Nielsen to Cable Television Operators: Track Viewers with Digital Tech

Cable operators work with the ratings service to track digital-cable viewers.

New York City, NY (PRWEB) Aug 29, 2004 -- Broadcasting & Cable magazine has learned that Nielsen Media Research is in talks with the nations largest cable operators about a new high tech way to measure audiences via subscribers digital set-top boxes.

The magazine reports in its August 30 edition that the cable operators are looking to boost ad revenue and that viewer data with Nielsens stamp of approval" could go a long way toward convincing Madison Avenue to shift more sponsor dollars from broadcast television to cable.

For years, cable operators have discussed pooling their set-top data, generated by every click of the remote. But now theyre negotiating with Nielsen to process, sell and, most importantly, certify the data," B&C reporter John Higgins writes.

But, the plan has a few flaws, according to Higgins: Operators dont know who is actually watching at any given moment." Those set-top boxes can tell you what channels subscribers are watching and when they are watching them. But the crucial currency of advertising is who is actually watching."

In addition, there are privacy and technical issues that will need to be overcome," says B&C.

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