Nielsen Media Research
Encyclopedia
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American
firm that measures
media
audience
s, including television
, radio
, theatre
film
s (via the AMC Theatres
MAP program) and newspaper
s. NMR, headquartered in New York City
, is best known for the Nielsen ratings
, an audience measurement
system of television viewership that for years has been the deciding factor in canceling or renewing television shows by television networks.
, a marketing
research
firm. In 1996, Nielsen Media Research was split off into an independent company and in 1999, was purchased by the Dutch
conglomerate
VNU
. In 2001, VNU also purchased ACNielsen, thereby bringing both companies under the same corporate umbrella. VNU was reorganized and renamed the Nielsen Company in 2007.
The Nielsen TV Ratings have been produced in the USA since the 1950s
and statistically measure which programs are watched by different segments of the population. The most well-known portion is the "diary". During the 4 sweeps months of February, May, July and November, Nielsen interviewers in Dunedin, Florida
and Radcliff, Kentucky
ask homes to participate in filling out a diary of the programs watched in their home for a one week period.
By 1983, Nielsen was dissatisfied with the diary method as national measurement tool. Stations complaining that the system was inaccurate lead to the cable study known as CAMS (Cable Audience Methodological Study), which proved claims to be true. Though they hadn’t agreed on a replacement, they were convinced that it was no longer adequate to measure new television environments due to dramatic media changes. Finally in 1986, Nielson developed an electronic meter, People Meter, to solve the problem. They were convinced their new method was efficient but still weren’t sure whether they would fully depend on the people meter measurement alone or use the people meter sample in a fashion similar to their previous diary method as an addition to the household meter sample to produce viewers per household. Ultimately, CONTAM validation studies helped Nielsen decided they would fully incorporate the full people meter service and leave the diary behind.
The Nielsen sample included roughly 1,700 audimeter homes and rotating board of nearly 850 diary respondents, by the early 1980s. Nielsen launched its Nielsen Homevideo Index (NHI) in 1980 to measure cable, pay cable, and VCRs, and the NHI began offering daily cable ratings in 1982. Nielsen’s continued to advance with steady changes into the mid 2000s. Along with changing their counting methods, Nielsen also started emphasizing their sample in 2003 in reaction to census shifts and requests from some industry sectors. Nielsen’s automated Local People Meter (LPM) technology was introduced in New York and Los Angeles. The LPM improved the method of measurement from active and diary-based to passive and meter-monitored. More importantly, the LPM provides accurate measurements to particular local markets, verse a nation wide sample from the People meter. While diary-based surveys concentrated on quarterly “sweeps” periods, the industry has been pushed towards year-round measurement, due to the automated LPM system.
Recently, Nielsen announced the launch of its A2M2 project that would measure television viewing in and out of the home.
Nielsen Media Research is a sister company to Nielsen NetRatings, which measures Internet
and digital media
audiences through a telephone and internet survey, and Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which measures Consumer-Generated Media.
Nielsen also conducts market research for the film industry through National Research Group (NRG).
, New York City
.
The company maintains an office in Oldsmar, Florida
. Most of the employees of Nielsen Media Research work in Oldsmar, and the company's media measurement work originates from the office. The Associated Press
said that the Oldsmar building, with a cost figure of $80 million, was "its so-called nerve center." In 2003 the company moved into the Oldsmar complex, designed by architect Alberto Alfonso
, and consolidated its employees there, with workers from Dunedin
and other areas in Pinellas County
moving into the Oldsmar building.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
firm that measures
Measurement
Measurement is the process or the result of determining the ratio of a physical quantity, such as a length, time, temperature etc., to a unit of measurement, such as the metre, second or degree Celsius...
media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
s, including television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s (via the AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
MAP program) and newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s. NMR, headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, is best known for the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, an audience measurement
Audience measurement
Audience measurement measures how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic on websites...
system of television viewership that for years has been the deciding factor in canceling or renewing television shows by television networks.
History
Nielsen Media Research, one of the largest media research companies in the world, began as a division of ACNielsenACNielsen
ACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, Illinois. As of May 2010, it is part of The Nielsen Company.-History:...
, a marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
firm. In 1996, Nielsen Media Research was split off into an independent company and in 1999, was purchased by the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
VNU
VNU
Nielsen is a global marketing and advertising research company headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Nielsen is active in over 100 countries, and employs some 32,000 people worldwide...
. In 2001, VNU also purchased ACNielsen, thereby bringing both companies under the same corporate umbrella. VNU was reorganized and renamed the Nielsen Company in 2007.
The Nielsen TV Ratings have been produced in the USA since the 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
and statistically measure which programs are watched by different segments of the population. The most well-known portion is the "diary". During the 4 sweeps months of February, May, July and November, Nielsen interviewers in Dunedin, Florida
Dunedin, Florida
Dunedin is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The population was 35,691 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 36,632...
and Radcliff, Kentucky
Radcliff, Kentucky
Radcliff is a city in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 21,961 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area....
ask homes to participate in filling out a diary of the programs watched in their home for a one week period.
By 1983, Nielsen was dissatisfied with the diary method as national measurement tool. Stations complaining that the system was inaccurate lead to the cable study known as CAMS (Cable Audience Methodological Study), which proved claims to be true. Though they hadn’t agreed on a replacement, they were convinced that it was no longer adequate to measure new television environments due to dramatic media changes. Finally in 1986, Nielson developed an electronic meter, People Meter, to solve the problem. They were convinced their new method was efficient but still weren’t sure whether they would fully depend on the people meter measurement alone or use the people meter sample in a fashion similar to their previous diary method as an addition to the household meter sample to produce viewers per household. Ultimately, CONTAM validation studies helped Nielsen decided they would fully incorporate the full people meter service and leave the diary behind.
The Nielsen sample included roughly 1,700 audimeter homes and rotating board of nearly 850 diary respondents, by the early 1980s. Nielsen launched its Nielsen Homevideo Index (NHI) in 1980 to measure cable, pay cable, and VCRs, and the NHI began offering daily cable ratings in 1982. Nielsen’s continued to advance with steady changes into the mid 2000s. Along with changing their counting methods, Nielsen also started emphasizing their sample in 2003 in reaction to census shifts and requests from some industry sectors. Nielsen’s automated Local People Meter (LPM) technology was introduced in New York and Los Angeles. The LPM improved the method of measurement from active and diary-based to passive and meter-monitored. More importantly, the LPM provides accurate measurements to particular local markets, verse a nation wide sample from the People meter. While diary-based surveys concentrated on quarterly “sweeps” periods, the industry has been pushed towards year-round measurement, due to the automated LPM system.
Recently, Nielsen announced the launch of its A2M2 project that would measure television viewing in and out of the home.
Nielsen Media Research is a sister company to Nielsen NetRatings, which measures Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and digital media
Digital media
Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
audiences through a telephone and internet survey, and Nielsen BuzzMetrics, which measures Consumer-Generated Media.
Nielsen also conducts market research for the film industry through National Research Group (NRG).
Corporate affairs
Nielsen has its headquarters in Lower ManhattanLower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The company maintains an office in Oldsmar, Florida
Oldsmar, Florida
Oldsmar is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,910 at the 2000 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population to be 13,401 as of 2008....
. Most of the employees of Nielsen Media Research work in Oldsmar, and the company's media measurement work originates from the office. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
said that the Oldsmar building, with a cost figure of $80 million, was "its so-called nerve center." In 2003 the company moved into the Oldsmar complex, designed by architect Alberto Alfonso
Alberto Alfonso
Alberto Alfonso AIA is a founding principal and President of Alfonso Architects, an architecture firm located in Ybor City, Florida. Cuban born, Alfonso was educated at The University of Florida where he received his M.A. in 1983. With his brother Carlos and partner Angel del Monte, Alfonso...
, and consolidated its employees there, with workers from Dunedin
Dunedin, Florida
Dunedin is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The population was 35,691 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 36,632...
and other areas in Pinellas County
Pinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County is a county located in the state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, Florida, and its largest city is St. Petersburg. This county is contained entirely within the telephone area code 727, except for some sections of Oldsmar, which have the area code 813...
moving into the Oldsmar building.
Initial Public Offer
Nielsen went in for an IPO in January 2011 and was the largest public offers in the United States in the last 4 years. Being the largest IPO for a firm backed by private equity at, $ 1.64 billion, the IPO was well received and closely watched by all big banks and private equity boutiques On March 1, 2011 they announced the appointment of Liz Zale as Vice President - Investor Relations. Liz Zale was previously Vice President Investor Relations at Moody's CorporationMoody's
Moody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency which performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized...
.
See also
- Automated Measurement of LineupsAutomated Measurement of LineupsAutomated Measurement of Lineups is the technology which allows Nielsen Media Research to track an identification code within locally transmitted TV signals for network and nationally syndicated programs. NMR is also linked by computers to networks and syndicators in order to receive their latest...
(AMOL) - Media Market or Designated Market Area (DMA)Media marketA media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...