Nielsen Media Research told clients Tuesday that it will be able to measure household members off at college, as well as the whole family when they head to the beach or mountains.
Nielsen told about 300 client representatives gathered at the Doral Resort in Miami that its "Extended Home" study concluded that household members who alternate between home and dorm and cottage by the sea could be tallied "with no impact on Nielsen's sample quality."
The study did find that viewing paterns differ, which anyone who has ever lived in a dorm or headed to the beach will confirm. Or, as Nielsen put it. "[It] may be because there are fewer television sets in the second locations and a different distribution of viewing hours."
Nielsen did not say when the extended viewers would be added to the sample or how much it would cost.
Nielsen also told clients that homes with DVRs (digital viceo recorders) will be included in the national sample effective January 2006.
