Major League Baseball opened the season last week and while I could write a column decrying Netflix’s opening night coverage (Dancers? Paraphrasing Tom Hanks: “There’s no dancers in baseball!”). Instead, let’s discuss the media’s favorite pastime: complaining about Nielsen.
After all, isn’t Nielsen the umpire? And who likes umpires?
The genesis for this column came from two pieces published in the past week: one for video and one for audio.
Evan Shapiro has a Substack called Media War and Peace, and I’m a paid subscriber. Evan has strong opinions, and he plays a unique role as the “media cartographer” with excellent charts that let you visualize different aspects of the media business.
But if you think my comments are occasionally “in your face,” Evan appears to subscribe to a comment made to me long ago by a media research colleague about another — since passed-on — media research colleague: “Some people call a spade a spade. He calls a spade a f—ing shovel.”
Putting Blame on Nielsen
Nielsen produces a monthly report called The Gauge. It may be the only data in existence that gives the media business an understanding of how much viewing goes to various sources, including streaming, broadcast, cable, etc. The problem is that Nielsen has had to delay the latest report twice.
According to an article in Variety on March 20, the latest delay came about “after some clients became alarmed by a downturn in streaming audiences” after Nielsen started using different data. This may have been caused by a methodological change using the new DASH universe estimates released by the Advertising Research Foundation. I could explain it to you, but I’d prefer you read the rest of this column.
Evan placed much of the blame on the Media Rating Council, an organization that has been discussed here in the past. The MRC accredits — or chooses not to accredit — audience measurement services that apply for their “blessing” and meet MRC standards after rigorous auditing.
Some Nielsen services are accredited. Evan’s hyperbole is “burn it all down,” meaning let’s get rid of the MRC, as he doesn’t feel the group is truly holding Nielsen’s feet to the fire.
The reality is more complicated. Media companies and researchers want the best possible outcomes for their companies, which means more viewing, listening, hits, clicks, whatever.
Unfortunately, that goal can conflict with good research. And in an age with an infinite number of media options, measurement has become increasingly complicated to the point that very few people understand how the system works.
George Ivie, the CEO and Executive Director of the MRC, spoke to my class at Western Kentucky earlier this semester and told the students about how incredibly complicated it is to measure online behavior.
Understanding the Data
That brings me to the second complaint.
Barrett Media’s own John Mamola published a piece last week titled “Why Sports Radio Should Lead the Fight for Nielsen Ratings Reform.” Based on my decades of experience in radio audience measurement, his opening line is not unique: “For over my two decades in sports radio, I never truly understood how Nielsen Ratings work.”
I can’t tell you how many people in the business share John’s plight. They know shares, rankers, and trends — in other words, did my station or stations do better this month, quarter, or year than last? That’s it.
John’s point was that radio/audio needs what video already has, which is big data. As a sports guy, he cited record-high audiences for various sports events in the past year, some of which is also due to the use of PPM in the national data. On behalf of the radio industry, I’d like to say, “You’re welcome,” to our video brethren who are enjoying the fruits of our industry’s investment.
John has a point, but where do you find the online data for audio? Triton has a system, but no demos. Perhaps that’s an unwillingness to invest, or perhaps it’s due to a Nielsen patent on modeling demographics for audio streaming. John noted — and I’ve also pointed out — Nielsen’s penchant for filing patent infringement lawsuits, whether valid or not.
Xperi’s DTS AutoStage is out there and growing, with a methodology for retrieving data from car infotainment systems. It looks promising, but the number of cars with DTS AutoStage is still small relative to the number on American roads, and there are some other methodological concerns as well.
Meanwhile, Nielsen and Cumulus are still locked in a courtroom battle, even if Cumulus’ latest bankruptcy threw a spanner into the works.
I’ll keep saying it: the radio industry and Nielsen need to come together for everyone’s good and build a better mousetrap. We need all listening included, we need it in one place, we need big data, and while many people still won’t understand how the numbers are calculated, the estimates should end up bigger — and that means better.
Forget the silos, forget the “I’m bigger than you so I get my way,” and Nielsen’s PE overlords need to understand that a healthy radio business means more profit for them and their investors at exit time.
Sorry, Evan, but the MRC needs to continue — and John, you’re right.
Let’s meet again next week.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
