Research firm BIA Financial Network Inc. has added newspapers to its "MEDIA Access
Pro" database and has integrated its radio and TV databases with the newspaper
data to allow for cross-media analysis.
The move was made, in part, with the Federal Communications Commission’s
proposed ownership rule changes in mind, but it does not hinge on them, spokeswoman Haidee Calore said.
Among the rules, currently in limbo, was one allowing widespread
cross-ownership of stations and newspapers.
Calore said there had already been increasing client interest -- those
clients include a couple of hundred TV stations -- in comparing their ad-dollar and
audience-share performance against other media in their markets and elsewhere.
The database is designed to be adjusted whichever way the FCC rules come
down. (Editor’s note: BIA provides data for Broadcasting & Cable’s
"Changing Hands" column.)
