TV Ratings
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Prime-time TV enjoys its highest ratings since 2007
The drastic change in the way people consume media has stirred up the argument that TV as we knew it is dead. But while prime-time ratings have dipped since the rise of services like Netflix and solid programming from networks such as AMC and HBO, the first quarter of 2014 has been very kind to prime-time TV in the US. According to a report from MoffettNathanson, prime-time TV ratings saw a surge of four percent compared to the previous quarter, and in the process marked the first time TV has seen any sort of growth since over a year ago. As Re/code notes, researcher Michael Nathanson says this is television's "best performance since the last quarter of 2007." But there's a reason for this: Nathanson points out that the increase in TV ratings is largely due to major events that have taken place this year, including the Oscars, the Sochi Winter Olympics, playoff games from the NFL and, most recently, the NCAA's March Madness tournament. We'll see if ratings can keep up this momentum going forward, but, at least for the time being, it's safe to say good ol' TV is far from being put to rest
GroupM and Nielsen work to combine online and TV metrics
For too long Nielsen ratings have dealt with TV commercials and web ads as completely separate entities. Episodes of your favorite show streamed through a service like Hulu or from the channel's website often didn't get factored into the pricing and sales of television ads, and vice versa. That is about to change, however, as the media monitoring company has joined forces with GroupM to create Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings. The new product will combine its Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings, which measures internet advertising, with its traditional TV monitoring service to create a medium-agnostic tool for creating media metrics. Hopefully, with a unified pool of data and better monitoring services, content producers may be more likely to experiment with online distribution -- especially if they influence the flagship ratings. Check out the complete PR after the break.
