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Nielsen and Urban Edge Network Sign New Agreement to Provide Consumer Insights for Historically Black Colleges and Universities

3 minute read | July 2022

New York, NY – July 28, 2022 – Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and Urban Edge Network (UEN) – a Black-owned media company focused on publishing and distributing content from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) – have reached an agreement to utilize Nielsen’s qualitative products and services. The new agreement will leverage Nielsen’s Scarborough qualitative measurement service and provide consumer insights on the HBCU communities where UEN has a presence across categories including media consumption, purchasing patterns, shopping behaviors, and leisure activities. 

“HBCUs – inclusive of their histories, stories, and legacies – have a tremendous influence on their constituents, extended networks, and surrounding communities, particularly the buying behaviors of Black communities across the country,” said Todd Brown, CEO of Urban Edge Network. “UEN’s partnership with Nielsen will highlight the unique consumer insights among HBCU-based demographics to demonstrate their value and impact. Together, we will create new opportunities and programs to bring energy to these untapped and underserved audiences and the brands that want to authentically engage with them.” 

“We’re delighted to welcome Urban Edge Network to Nielsen and empower its teams and partners with our enhanced qualitative measurement capabilities,” said Catherine Herkovic, EVP and Managing Director at Nielsen Local. “It is important to us at Nielsen to strive for inclusive representation and ensure that diverse segments are reflected in our measurement. We look forward to providing the comprehensive data and tools necessary to help UEN accurately communicate consumer insights about HBCU audiences that support their mission.”

Recognized nationally, UEN broadcasts content digitally from HBCUs including news, sporting events, and student activities. Through its services and platforms, UEN continues to support increased visibility of HBCU communities and will leverage Nielsen’s solutions to bolster UEN’s capacity to deliver on this promise while gauging audience characteristics and behaviors to accurately convey product efficiency. UEN serves the HBCU community more than any other minority-owned provider of this service. 

About Urban Edge Network and HBCU League Pass+

Urban Edge Network (UEN) is a Black-owned media company focused on publishing and distributing content from Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and their extended communities, including sporting events, student activities, and Black-owned media and entertainment programming. The mission of UEN is to help brands connect authentically with the diverse audiences served by HBCU content and culture while providing the institutions with monetization opportunities.

HBCU League Pass+, a subsidiary of Urban Edge Network, is an ad-supported Black College Sports Network, delivering 24/7 access to live and on-demand content from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As a Microsoft Startup partner, HBCU League Pass+ is a must-have, free streaming service for all HBCU college sports fans. Its goal is to bring advertising dollars, NIL, and streaming video enabled by AdTech to HBCU communities, students, and alumni. Download HBCU League Pass+ now on all major streaming platforms and iOS and Android supported devices. Learn more at  https://www.hbculeaguepassp

About Nielsen

Nielsen shapes the world’s media and content as a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their audiences—now and into the future.

An S&P 500 company, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) operates around the world in more than 55 countries.  Learn more at www.nielsen.com or www.nielsen.com/investors and connect with us on social media.

Contact:

Dawn Rowan
Nielsen
dawn.rowan@nielsen.com