New York, NY – Jan. 27, 2021 – Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and American Spirit today announced an agreement under which Nielsen will provide them with Local TV measurement services. This includes a new contract for local TV measurement and Nielsen Ad Intel for American Spirit station WDBD in Jackson, Miss., and a renewal for local TV measurement and Nielsen Ad Intel for WSFX in Wilmington, N.C. In addition, KVHP, Lake Charles, La., and WXTX  Columbus Ga., have signed new agreements for Nielsen Ad Intel. Nielsen Ad Intel is the leading provider of competitive advertising intelligence information, tracking ad activity and spending across all local markets. 

American Spirit Media, LLC is a broadcasting company based in Charlotte, N.C. Founded by Thomas B. Henson in 2003 as Ottumwa Media Holdings, it owns television stations in several cities in the Southeastern U.S.

“We are excited to add these additional services to our stations, building upon the valuable insights that Nielsen provides to us,” said Wayne Freedman, VP Group Sales at American Spirit Media. “Adding Nielsen’s Ad Intel will help us gain market share and accelerate our continued innovation as we showcase our significant value to clients.” 

“We are delighted to expand our relationship with American Spirit Media,” said Catherine Herkovic, EVP and Managing Director, Nielsen Local Television. “We value their partnership and remain committed to supporting their success leveraging Nielsen’s tools and insights to drive their business.”

Nielsen’s investment and innovation continue to transform how local TV is measured. With the activation of additional return-path-data into 47 RPD+ markets in January 2021, Nielsen is now reporting local TV audiences from millions of households across the U.S.

Beginning in February 2021, all 137 RPD+ markets will benefit from daily delivery of local TV ratings to measure the impact of sports, specials and breaking news of the day. This accelerated ratings delivery will empower media buyers and sellers to demonstrate the power of local broadcast TV to reach key audiences and consumers in their local communities. Nielsen remains the only provider of direct persons measurement and comprehensive reporting from pay-TV households, over-the-air homes, and linear streams from virtual MVPDs across all 208 DMAs.