CBS has agreed to subscribe to Nielsen’s Out-of-Home Reporting Service and will get estimates for how many people watch its shows advertising live and through seven days of delayed viewing.
Several programmers including ESPN and Turner have subscribed to out-of-home ratings mainly to measure audiences for sporting events in bars, hotel rooms, health clubs, offices and other locations.
CBS says its agreement covers all network programming, but notes that during the Final Four games broadcast by CBS this year, out-of-home viewing lifts its audience by 1.1 million viewers per game or 18.9%.
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“Being able to measure CBS’ content and uncover additional viewers outside the confines of their homes will help us showcase the breadth and depth of our valuable programming to clients in a more robust way,” said Dave Poltrack, chief research officer of CBS Corporation. “Nielsen’s Out-of-Home service has been discussed primarily with regards to sports, but we are pleased this agreement covers all of the Network’s programming and that Nielsen is moving in the right direction as it pertains to measuring the total audience.”
Nielsen captures out-of-home viewing using Portable People Meters carried by about 77,000 panelists. The syndicated service uses a fusion methodology to combine the PPM footprint across 44 local TV markets with Nielsen's national representative panel.
The National Out-of-Home Reporting service provides networks the ability to count an audience that was previously unmeasured and is a part of Nielsen’s Total Audience framework.
“CBS has been an early adopter of our Nielsen Total Audience measurement offerings, such as out-of-home, which has allowed them to demonstrate their incremental audience lift and help to showcase the benefits to marketers,” said Peter Bradbury, Managing Director, Nielsen National Client Solutions. “As viewing continues to shift across platforms, devices and delivery systems, Nielsen’s commitment to capturing and reporting all consumers’ viewing and out-of-home measurement is a key part of this evolution. We are delighted that CBS will be joining the expanding roster of Nielsen’s television clients who see the value of our National Out-of-Home Reporting service.”
