Nielsen has recruited 450 Puerto Rico homes for the first installation of People Meters on the island.
The move ends the longstanding
dominance of MediaFax, the IBOPE-owned firm that had been measuring the island's
television audiences since the 1980s.
New television ratings will be
available by the first quarter of 2010. Clients who've signed up include the
island's three main TV providers - Telemundo-owned WKAQ-TV, Univision's WLII-TV
and independent WAPA-TV.
"We believe this is going to
be a great change," WAPA-TV president Joe Ramos told Hispanic TV Update. WAPA,
along with Univision and Telemundo, got together earlier this year to evaluate
both measuring systems. They concluded that Nielsen offered a more accurate
sample and was superior in terms of technology and service.
The contract with MediaFax, which
also used electronic meters, expires Dec. 31.
Nielsen has said it will
employ targeted monetary incentives to reach such segments as younger homes,
which have historically proven hard to reach in Puerto Rico.
Leading
Nielsen's business in Puerto Rico is Victor Vázquez, an
island native.
