Nielsen dubs Twitter 'digital water cooler' as joint TV rating takes off
Twitter and Nielsen are getting together to create a "Nielsen Twitter TV Rating" that will measure the total audience for social TV activity on Twitter. The deal takes in the US market: there is no word of UK or European involvement yet. Both people who comment and people exposed to their comments will be featured.
Twitter: compliments fly
Compliments were flying as the deal was announced. Nielsen said of Twitter, that it had become "the world's digital water cooler, where conversations about TV happen in real time."
Chloe Sladden, VP-media at Twitter, said on Twitter's blog, "As the experience of TV viewing continues to evolve, our TV partners have consistently asked for one common benchmark from which to measure the engagement of their programming.
"This new metric is intended to answer that request, and to act as a complement and companion to the Nielsen TV rating."
Networks and marketers have been encouraging social-media activity around TV shows. But the question has been how much benefit social chatter ultimately provides for ratings or advertisers.
"Something closer to an industry-standard gauge could be one step in better understanding that equation," said AdAge magazine.
Twitter hired industry veteran Fred Graver this summer as head of TV and he discussed a potential Twitter rating for TV at the Ad Age Social Engagement/Social TV Conference in October.
Facebook has also been asking networks and brands to let it help extend the conversation about TV. However for Nielsen , Twitter is the go-to place.
"As a media-measurement leader we recognize that Twitter is the preeminent source of real-time television engagement data," said Steve Hasker, president-global media products and advertiser solutions at Nielsen.
On their website Nielsen made it clear the multi-year agreement to create the “Nielsen Twitter TV Rating” was for the US market for the moment.
Nielsen and Twitter will deliver a syndicated-standard metric around the reach of the TV conversation on Twitter, slated for commercial availability at the start of the fall 2013 TV season.
Hasker said, “The Nielsen Twitter TV Rating is a significant step forward for the industry, particularly as programmers develop increasingly captivating live TV and new second-screen experiences, and advertisers create integrated ad campaigns that combine paid and earned media.
“Our users love the shared experience of watching television while engaging with other viewers and show talent. "