ComScore is expanding its agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group, adding WSBT (CBS) South Bend, Indiana, KUQI (FOX) Corpus Christi, Texas, and KHGI (ABC) and KFXL (FOX) Lincoln and Hastings-Kearney, Nebraska.
ComScore now provides local measurement currency to 704 television stations among 82 ownership groups.
“Sinclair and comScore have a great partnership,” said Steve Walsh, comScore’s executive vice president of local television, in statement. “We are very pleased that Sinclair is driving revenue with the use of comScore ratings information.”
The expanded deal with Sinclair comes after last week comScore announced it had reached 700 television stations covered by its local measurement after signing a deal with Graham Media Group for its WSLS in Roanoke, Virginia.
“[ComScore is] committed to the local broadcast industry and are providing us with the much-needed stable measurement from their massive databases in all markets, big and small. This approach provides our stations and the industry with stronger insights to make programming decisions and a stable databased currency to transact with our agency and advertiser partners,” said Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, in a statement.
ComScore has deals in place with ABC, CBS, Fox, Sinclair, Tribune, Raycom, Graham and Hubbard.
RELATED: Sinclair VP: ATSC 3.0 will allow us to ditch Nielsen, save millions
The expanded comScore deal comes as Sinclair and other broadcasters are looking ahead to ATSC 3.0 and the viewership data that IP-based broadcast TV standard will open up for use in more granular measurement and ad targeting.
Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, said he sees a big financial upside to ATSC 3.0’s potential for collecting and analyzing viewership data.
“If we weren’t stuck with Nielsen and their reading of the tea leaves, we’d have tens of millions of extra dollars in our pocket,” Aitken told FierceBroadcasting, adding that the situation between broadcasters and Nielsen has been lopsided for a long time.
He called Nielsen’s process “imprecise” and said it’s often easy to prove how “askew” the numbers are.