In front of a crowd of over 100 top TV critics and media reporters who attended Nielsen’s main stage session at the Television Critic’s Association’s (TCA’s) West Coast tour on Aug. 4, 2017, in Los Angeles, Calif., Nielsen SVPs of Product Leadership Kelly Abcarian and Brian Fuhrer provided insight into the current media landscape. Specifically, Abcarian and Fuhrer addressed how consumers are changing behaviors, content is changing distribution methods and how Nielsen is leading the industry and keeping pace in this fragmented environment.
Fuhrer noted that an explosion in consumer options has led to a likeminded rise in content and both the viewer and the critic covering this programming have a bevy of options to benefit from. Additionally, reporters were brought up to speed on the Nielsen currency metric that content is not just bought and sold on, but also has helped define success for programming and how Nielsen is measuring audiences in a cross-platform capacity.
“It’s really content at the top of the funnel, every year new content coming out that captures the imagination and the culture that we have,” said Fuhrer.
“If you think back at three television networks and four television networks and then the explosion of cable was one thing. But now the ability to have video on demand and subscription video on demand, all the over-the-top offerings, it’s amazing all the different things and how it’s keeping up with consumers’ amazing appetite for video and ways to view entertainment,” added Fuhrer.
While device proliferation originally created a challenging measurement environment, Nielsen’s Total Audience initiative and the flexibility of its solutions suite were on full display at TCA, and Abcarian presented select, actual case studies detailing how different clients are using tenants of Total Audience to research and uncover audiences beyond the traditional linear, C3 (linear commercial viewership within the three days) window.
From taking a look at audiences beyond seven days—whom are often younger and more upscale—to finding insights in viewers out of the confines of their respective homes, it’s these opportunities that clients have been searching and ones that only Nielsen can help the industry capitalize on in an efficient manner.
“At Nielsen we’ve really been focused on understanding that total audience. And if you think about that total audience, it’s really not a one-dimensional aspect. You have audiences that are viewing across time. You have audiences that are viewing across different platforms. And you have audiences that are viewing against different distribution opportunities,” said Abcarian.
“All of this brings great opportunity for our television programmers, for advertisers, and it makes measurement even more critical and important to understand this unfolding landscape,” Abcarian added.
In short, Fuhrer noted, creating value for the industry is and has always been a Nielsen priority and Total Audience has delivered.
“We are being very dynamic and fluid and flexible with our clients to make sure that we are measuring the consumer wherever they go,” he said.
