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Magna: Nielsen’s Commercial Ratings Not a Better Solution

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.