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Nielsen’s so-called minute-by-minute commercial ratings, which many in the industry say will be the new currency for next year’s upfront, is being described by at least one influential media agency executive as no better than traditional program average ratings, MediaPost writes. According to Steve Sternberg, executive vp-audience analysis at Magna Global USA, the commercial ratings have some flaws. Viewers only need to tune to a channel for a few seconds for that channel to get credit for a full minute, he points out, saying that a second-by-second account of commercial viewing is what is needed to get a true look at commercial audiences.
VCR viewing is also included in the commercial ratings, which Sternberg calls “an embarrassment,” according to TV Week. Only about two-thirds of taped shows are ever watched, and of those, two-thirds of commercials are fast-forwarded, the article says.
Another problem is that portions of the slots counted as commercial actually include programming as well. Those should be counted as programming and commercial minutes rather than just commercial minutes.
TV Week points out that this may portend a potential battle between media buyers and network executives, similar to the conflict about live-plus-seven-day ratings.
All sectors of the media business will suffer from the weakened economy in 2008 and 2009, with a slump in local advertising particularly hurting newspapers and local TV, according to a new projection from Goldman Sachs.
Broadcast nets will experience…
The New York Times is shuttering its International Herald Tribune site; NYTimes.com will soon host the international news normally reserved for its sister website.
The move is not about cost savings, but rather about growth, NYTimes.com general manager Vivian Schiller…
Unilever’s Vaseline set forth on an unusual research project in a small town in Alaska. Setting up a storefront, the company began giving away free bottles of lotion and asking recipients to name the person who had recommended they come…
Meet the Press, the show hosted by Tim Russert for 17 years before his death last June, is beginning to slip in ratings.
Last month, CBS’s Face the Nation pulled ahead of Meet the Press for the first time in two…
Bloggers collectively create nearly one million blog posts each day, and half of bloggers believe blogs will be a primary source of news and entertainment in the next five years, according to Technorati’s 2008 State of the Blogosphere Report, MarketingCharts writes.…
Wal-Mart and Costco reported same-store gains in September, with sales rising 2.4% and 9% respectively. Sales at Target stores open at least a year fell 3%, writes Retailer Daily.
Below, fiscal results from the discount retail giants:
Sales of food and…
