Nielsen said it signed a multi-year agreement to provide Lilly Broadcasting’s stations with local TV measurement, including Nielsen Scarborough data.
Nielsen will be the only provider of audience data to Lilly as of January 1. Lilly signed a long-term deal with Rentrak, now part of Comscore, in 2015,
The deal covers Lilly stations WSEE-TV and WSEE DT2, Erie, Pennsylvania, and WENY-TV, WENY DT2 and WENY DT3 in Elmira, New York. WSEE is also carried by distributors in Puerto Rico, and Nielsen will measure its viewing there.
The deal comes at a time when Nielsen is feeling the heat for undercounting TV viewing during the pandemic, which led to it losing accreditation from the Media Rating Council for its national l ratings services. Its local ratings system is also unaccredited. Rivals have been more aggressively challenging Nielsen, the long-time leader in audience measurement.
“We chose Nielsen as the provider of our local research based on its ability to account for the entire marketplace,” said John Christianson, COO of Lilly Broadcasting. “That includes the growing segment of broadcast-only homes. As Nielsen moves with the industry towards broader acceptance of impressions, we see this as a positive development since our stations are carried on a multitude of digital platforms that Nielsen is capable of capturing and reporting.”
Nielsen in September announced plans to shift from ratings to impressions in measuring viewing of local TV commercials
“Lilly is a valued client, and we are thrilled that they have chosen us to be their audience data and insights provider,” said Catherine Herkovic, executive VP, managing director, Nielsen Local TV. “We are looking forward to empowering Lilly to showcase their value to advertisers, as they inspire and inform the communities that they serve.” ■
