Time Warner Inc. and Nielsen Media Research have extended their contract for local and national TV ratings for an additional three years in a deal that will include “Local People Meter” service in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta, officials said Tuesday.
The pact between the media giant and Nielsen will now reach through 2008, and it will cover Time Warner’s broadcast, cable and syndication businesses. That includes Time Warner Cable, Turner Broadcasting System Inc., The WB Television Network, Home Box Office, Court TV and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
The agreement provides Time Warner with national and local TV-audience estimates, including LPM service for Time Warner Cable in New York and Los Angeles and for WTBS in Atlanta. In addition, both Time Warner and Nielsen will share information and work together to develop and test new TV-measurement systems.
“We are committed to working with Nielsen to ensure that television will always be the best-measured medium,” Turner chief research officer Jack Wakshlag said in a prepared statement on behalf of Time Warner. “Our agreement provides us with continuous hands-on involvement in Nielsen’s television-research measurement and allows our companies access to the Nielsen research tools they need to do business more effectively.”
