Nielsen and Simulmedia said they have signed a development agreement to research "long-tail" TV network measurement, aimed at the small cable networks that today don't buy measurement services. If they developed a viewer-capturing system those networks would buy, it might help those networks in their advertising sales and open up new markets for the measurement firms.
The two companies have been working together for more than a year on joint research involving the Nielsen People Meter panel and Simulmedia's set-top box viewing data representing 50 million viewers, the companies said. Now they want to create new measurement solution for currently unmeasured cable network TV audiences.
"We are very excited to work with Nielsen again on research that we expect will eventually allow smaller networks to sell advertising using consistent and reliable audience measurement tools," Dave Morgan, Simulmedia's CEO, said in a release. "In our work, we have found valuable blocks of audiences watching programs that may be under the radar of many network TV buyers. This research will surface both the value of these networks and their audiences to brands, and the cost effectiveness of working with them to reach attractive consumers and achieve positive business outcomes."
In October 2013, Simulmedia entered into a license agreement with Nielsen to integrate Nielsen Buyer Insights into the Simulmedia Audience Insights Database to augment TV viewer behavioral insights, the companies said.
"We're committed to delivering solutions that drive business benefits for our clients. Big and small. Global and local. Across and within platforms," Steve Hasker, Nielsen's President of Global Product Leadership, said in the release. "This initiative with Simulmedia signifies an important Nielsen move to seek out innovation to bring meaningful insights to our clients and the industry. We look forward to continued collaboration with Simulmedia."
