Nielsen Bows to Wishes of Media Buyers, Scraps Plans to Scrap Live-Only for Now: Update 12-17

Media buyers have been partially successful in their efforts to convince Nielsen to continue offering live-only ratings in local markets.

Nielsen has bowed to the wishes of media buyers, saying that it will continue to include live viewing data - rather than eliminating live-only and switching to live-plus-same-day, as the measurement company said in November that it planned to do - at least until March. Live-only data will be included in the monthly total viewing sources file, but overnights will only be offered in live-plus-same-day, writes Media Life.

Buyers had protested the announced shift to live-plus-same-day because of an estimated jump in ratings of 13% when the DVR data was incorporated, which would likely lead to an increase in ad prices for their clients. Nielsen said that, while it agreed to continue with live-only for now, live-only data could potentially “lead to flaws in planning and buying and distortion of TV performance, impacting consumer behavior - leading one to pick the wrong mix of programs and weight for advertising schedules.” Nielsen urged media buyers and television stations to come to a metric all could agree on.

Nielsen said the modified plan will go into effect Jan. 7 and will continue through the end of March, giving clients time to compare the ratings from the two ratings sources, reports Mediaweek.

Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer for GroupM, who had threatened legal action against Nielsen for its earlier decision to scrap live-only, said, “Nielsen heard from all parties and they’re doing the right thing.”

Dec. 12: Mad Ave Seeks Help from TV Stations
Having failed to receive a suitable response from Nielsen in regards to the measurement company’s decision to eliminate live ratings for local TV stations and replace them with live-plus-same-day ratings, media buyers are meeting with local TV broadcasters in the hopes of convincing them to join in an effort to “work towards a mutual agreement regarding local television audience measurement.”

An email from John Muszynski, chief investment officer of Publicis’ SMGX unit to key local TV station executives (obtained by MediaPost), suggests that, “While we have voiced our concerns directly to Nielsen, we feel it would be more productive for us to collaborate together to establish a model, based on research facts, that will satisfy all of our needs. Given that we have numerous deals in place for 2010 based on Live-only data, we owe it to our clients to quickly develop an action plan.”

Muszynski’s email hints that Nielsen’s decision to go with live-plus-same-day ratings rather than live-only will undermine the value of local TV advertising in the eyes of advertisers and will ultimately cost stations ad dollars if the move is allowed to happen. He asked for the stations’ support in order to fight Nielsen’s decision.

A meeting between station executives and agencies is expected to be announced in coming days, MediaPost writes.

Meanwhile, others on Madison Ave. have expressed their concern over Nielsen’s decision. WPP’s GroupM has threatened Nielsen with legal action, while the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Association of National Advertisers have both come forward with statements strongly opposing Nielsen’s move.

Nielsen has defended its position, saying that, given the growing penetration and usage of DVRs, live-only ratings “no longer offer an accurate picture of the television viewing that occurs on an individual day.”

Nov. 25: Nielsen Shoots Back Angry Letter to 4As
Nielsen has responded to the angry letter from the 4As, regarding the measurement company’s decision to stop releasing live-only ratings for local TV stations, refuting the 4A’s claim that it has “inserted itself into the buy/sell process.”

Sara Erichson, Nielsen president of media client services, said the company has no desire to be “stuck in the middle between buyers and sellers,” and that the suggestion that Nielsen has sacrificed its credibility with the decision is “inappropriate and misplaced.”

Erichson added that Nielsen remains committed to continuing the ratings discussion with all clients and is “open to suggestions that find common ground between buyers and sellers.”

MediaPost has the entire text of the letter from Erichson.

Nov. 18
Nielsen has decided to eliminate live-only ratings in major local TV markets in favor of live-plus-same-day ratings come January - a move which has the American Association of Advertising Agencies up in arms.

A letter from the 4As Media Policy Committee, signed by president/CEO of GroupM North America Marc Goldstein, called the move “totally unacceptable,” according to MediaPost. GroupM executives have expressed major problems with the idea of eliminating live-only ratings and replacing them with live-plus-same-day, pointing out that it could immediately increase local TV ratings by 13%. Long-term contracts with TV stations that are already in place could be significantly affected because they were made using live-only ratings, GroupM says.

“I have never seen such blatant disregard,” says Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer at GroupM. “If they want to add another stream, that’s fine. But by eliminating the live-only stream, they are changing the currency.”

An increase in ratings for local TV stations would give those stations ammunition in the fight against plummeting ad prices. Local TV ad revenue has fallen 30% to 40% over the last year.

Nielsen says the company discussed the possibility of the change with all its clients. But MediaPost reports that the TV stations’ main lobbying group, the Television Bureau of Advertising, might have had a hand in pushing Nielsen toward the shift. An email from the bureau to TV stations congratulated stations on influencing Nielsen’s decision. “Congratulations! You did it!,” the email read.

GroupM is considering legal action against Nielsen to overturn the decision.