Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA)-owned CNBC, which is part of NBCUniversal has dropped audience measurement icon Nielsen in favor of Cogent Reports, grousing that Nielsen misses target audiences in, among other places, "five star hotel rooms (and) country clubs."
CNBC president Mark Hoffman, in a statement said that it is depending on Cogent to bring "targeted consumption metrics" for its Business Day audience, suggesting that this is not something that has happened in the past.
"Throughout our 25 year history, traditional measurement companies have struggled to capture CNBC's audience of business executives, decision makers and affluent investors who watch our network from their corner offices, trading floors, five star hotel rooms, country clubs, restaurants and health clubs," Hoffman said.
NBCUniversal's Linda Yaccarino, president of advertising sales, took it one step further by essentially labeling current measurement methods as lagging "far behind rapidly changing consumer viewing trends" which, she said, means CNBC's viewers have always been under-reported through Nielsen's in-home-only panel."
Cogent Reports collects data monthly through survey-based measurement from more than 700 investors and 400 financial professionals.
Nielsen, as expected, downplayed the change in a prepared statement, pointing out that it has the wherewithal to cover "networks with niche audiences like CNBC."
"These networks have always used alternative measures, which are provided by Nielsen as well as other insights and data providers in the market," the statement concluded.
For more:
- Broadcasting & Cable has this story
- CNN has this story
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