BIA/Kelsey, Share Rocket partner on local TV station social media ratings

Research firm BIA/Kelsey is partnering with Share Rocket to provide social media ratings for local TV stations.

Share Rocket will kick in its station-level social media data for the top 100 U.S. local television markets to BIA/Kelsey's data and analytical software, MEDIA Access Pro, and its advertising dashboard product, ADVantage.

“Broadcasters are intent on monetizing the value of their social audiences, especially as consumers turn to multiple channels and devices to consume content,” said Rick Ducey, managing director at BIA/Kelsey, in a statement. “Our goal in working with Share Rocket is to offer social data to broadcasters that will help them create a social currency around their audiences. We will deliver this information via industry 'how to' papers and within our own software products that industry professionals use daily.”

Social media could represent a significant source of revenue for broadcasters. According to BIA/Kelsey, the social media advertising industry in the U.S. will grow to $31.5 billion by 2021, up from $14.9 billion last year. Ad spending has been shifting partially away from traditional media channels as a recent Share Rocket study shows. The study indicates that local TV Facebook pages are growing 48% annually, well ahead of Facebook’s 7% overall average audience growth in the U.S.

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"As distribution channels evolve, ratings solutions and transactional currencies are the next logical step beyond standard metrics and analytics tools for broadcasters to determine the best next steps for their social channels," said Chris Kraft, CEO of Share Rocket, in a statement. "Share Rocket delivers the share-based metrics broadcasters need to better understand their social audiences and improve performance both for consumers and advertisers. We are excited to partner with BIA/Kelsey to bring this data directly to broadcasters."

BIA/Kelsey estimates TV broadcasters could pull in some of the $10 billion that will be spent in locally targeted social advertising by 2021 by packaging their news content specifically for social channels.