Comscore just notched a key agreement with Comcast to include the cable provider’s TV viewership data in its audience measurement product.
Comscore CEO Bill Livek said the deal will greatly improve his company’s direct measurement of television households across the U.S.
“It is a major step in our ongoing journey toward more precise measurement, helping us develop better products to serve our customers and drive revenue growth in the coming years," said Livek in a statement.
Livek mentioned the deal first thing during his company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last week. He said the integration will “vastly” improve Comscore’s direct measurement of television households across the U.S. markets and “greatly enhances” the company’s national and local ratings services. He said adding the Comcast data will improve audience ratings, introduce impressions and boost accountability and insights for advertisers, agencies and networks.
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He said it will be the first time all major MVPDs are included in Comscore’s ratings and measurements. The integrated dataset will improve Comscore’s ability to provide addressable advertising and measure major streaming services to sell targeted ads.
“We believe this enhanced capability will present an opportunity to sell Comscore products to more media companies, brands, advertisers, agencies and driving our revenue growth,” Livek said.
Livek said that before Comcast’s data was integrated, Comscore had to use mathematical models it was representing viewership for the operator on a market-by-market basis. Now the company can take the model out and insert Comcast’s actual audience data. He said his company is focused on integrating the Comcast data by the end of the year.
“We've got a super capable team that has done this before, and this is something that's strategically important for the industry and us. So, we're making a top priority,” Livek said, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.