The Fox-owned streaming outlet Tubi plans to expand its relationship with Nielsen to help advertisers measure viewing of Tubi programming across a wider array of venues, a critical demand that has increased from Madison Avenue as more viewing takes place via mobile and broadband.
Tubi plans to utilize Nielsn’s Digital Ad Ratings to expand coverage of streaming devices, including computer, mobile and connected TV. The company said the expanded pact represents ” a step towards increased industry coverage” provided by Nielsen One, a new product being developed by the measurement giant that will track viewership acorss linear and digital screens and is expected to be made more widely available to the market by the end of 2022.
“As a movie and television streaming service with 80% of our viewers watching on TV screens, we’re excited about the proposed integration of Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings measurement across our device partners,” said Mark Rotblat, chief revenue officer at Tubi, in a statement. “This upcoming device coverage replaces slim proxies with comprehensive and stable currency-grade measurement, allowing our advertisers to transact on audiences in a way that is apples-to-apples with traditional TV.”
Fox’s expanded pact with Nielsen is revealed just weeks before the industry’s annual “upfront” market, when U.S. TV companies try to sell the bulk of their commercial inventory ahead of the next programming cycle. Several big media companies, including NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, have struck new types of measurement deals with Nielsen rivals in the belief that the venerable company isn’t moving quickly enough to tabulate a modern set of viewers who watch fewer of their favorite programs at a specific day and date. Nielsen has lost industry accreditation for several of its biggest measurement products, spurring competitors to woo the company’s TV clients.
But Nielsen isn’t leaving the arena. Disney, Interpublic Group and Publicis Groupe are among the media and advertising companies that continue to work with Nielsen in its efforts to establish new measurement technology. Fox now joins those ranks.
“We are excited to expand our relationship with Tubi through this integration, which enables enhanced and comprehensive measurement through Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings,” said Ameneh Atai, general manager of digital audience measurement for Nielsen, in a statement. “In this increasingly fragmented media landscape, the need for independent measurement is more critical than ever, as is providing more transparency to advertisers. Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings delivers audience measurement metrics across computers, smartphones, tablets and connected TV, providing campaign insights across digital media platforms and a deeper understanding of the unique reach of Tubi’s target audiences.”
