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One of the sensitive subjects back in the Arbitron days was how the ratings company planned to measure online Internet audio platforms such as Pandora. That sensitivity has not changed under the new ownership of Nielsen. Radio was Arbitron's biggest client and Pandora has evolved into somewhat of a threat to radio's revenue (how big that threat is depends on who you talk to).
We know Nielsen is working on a measurement technology that will count online listeners. But what is radio these days? The consumer has a much wider definition than industry insiders. How do Pandora and other pure-play audio platforms fit into the new Nielsen measurement plan? Nielsen Senior VP Farshad Family tells Radio Ink, "We want to be able to measure it all." Negotiations are still ongoing and things can always change, however, here is the way we understand it will work.
Family tells Radio Ink one of the things Nielsen has been saying fairly consistently from when the acquisition closed was that they want to measure audio in a comprehensive manner. "We know that the audio landscape is changing. Keeping with our mantra of following the consumer, whether it?s broadcasters or digital pureplays, we want to be able to measure it all. So this approach of measuring digital would also work for players like Pandora. We would also look to have our meter in various Pandora applications so we can understand the size of their audience as well, and be able to report them separately. They are not a broadcasting medium. They provide a one-to-one experience, with dynamically inserted ads. We would report them just like we would other radio clients that provide a dynamically inserted ad experience."
In Nielsen's eyes, for now, Pandora will not be treated the same way as radio. Nielsen is saying Pandora is not radio. So when the new online measurement service is up and running, if you subscribe to Nielsen, your numbers will not include Pandora numbers, so advertisers can compare. And, Pandora's numbers will not include yours, according to Family. "Right now we?re working through the exact reporting mechanics of where the data will show up and how it will look. We haven?t sorted that out. In terms of approach, what we are thinking is that there is one treatment for broadcast content, one-to-many, in the simplest terms. Then there is different treatment for one-to-one content."
Where it gets even more tricky is how radio stations get reported when they do not simulcast, if they are inserting ads. Family says that signal will still be measured, but..."We will split it out as a separate line and show it as a separate entity, if you will, as a separate channel, but we will still provide the measurement." There is no solid date for Nielsen's new online measurement platform. Nielsen is said to be working with clients this year installing meters at the radio stations. Family says once some of the technical details and engineering is worked out reports will be able to be produced.
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