Nielsen and Comcast video ad firm FreeWheel are teaming up to expand measurement to over-the-top and set-top box video-on-demand inventory.
The effort to add targetable digital video platforms for programmers, MVPDs, agencies and advertisers arrives not long after Nielsen began integrating Comcast's nonpersonally identifiable TV viewing data with its panel data.
"Nielsen is committed to building measurement solutions that account for the entire television ecosystem, from linear and—in view of our plans with Comcast and FreeWheel—across over-the top and set-top box video on demand inventory," said Megan Clarken, global president of Watch at Nielsen, in a statement. "This solution will be critical to further unlock the power of television, wherever and however a consumer is watching that content."
"The work Comcast and FreeWheel will be doing with Nielsen to make television, in all its forms, data-enabled, targetable and measurable is another step to unify TV as a platform," said Marcien Jenckes, president of advertising for Comcast Cable, in a statement. "These efforts will add to the robust picture of viewership trends, further strengthening the currency used by the entire TV industry."
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Last year, Nielsen and Comcast reached an agreement to supply Nielsen with Comcast’s anonymous set-top box usage data.
"Our enhanced local TV measurement strategy combines the best elements from Nielsen's high-quality panels with set-top box data from Comcast and other providers in an anonymous way," Clarken said. "We are continuously innovating our local measurement solutions and leveraging all data sources to deliver a comprehensive service that offers true local market insights and showcases the power of local television.”