Mumbai: The most discussed topic globally, especially in India, is connected devices. There is a TV measurement, but most broadcast players are wondering how connected TV will be measured. Many industry experts have raised this issue. Nielsen chief executive and chairman David Kenny speaks at length with Rahul Kanwal of India Today on the same.
At Davos, Kenny spoke about audience measurement trends one will be seeing in 2023 across the globe. In the new year, Nielsen plans to move away from machine-based measurement to people-based measurement which means they will now be respecting the audience and measuring time where the consumer spends her whole day and then how much of it is on which screen and what exactly is she watching at that moment in time, so it’s a big change. This measurement will respect the consumer as they are now in charge of their own experience.
He goes on to add that as now televisions are connected to the internet and there is a lot more data, the phone is also connected to the network. “This makes it possible for cable operators to give us return path data through their set-top boxes. Today we have many data sources, but this also leads to errors and may lead to double counting which is hard. So an actual panel of people is also used, so we know who agrees to give us their data and we put the two together to get weighted in a country like India which is very heterogeneous, weighted in each region, weighted by demographics, to get to a true view of what the audience is doing. It has been a great effort to reconcile the other advantage which is there in measurement because nothing else is allowed to be used for targeting,” he explains.
On the question of piracy, Kenny said, the data can be used without violating the consumer’s privacy as the said consumer is not tracked permanently so the data is unique. Many governments across the globe are concerned about measurement methods.
On this service being implemented in India, Kenny brought out that there are many players in India and we have been in talks, also there is BARC for linear television measurement, and Nielsen India measuring the digital ad ratings. “We are working on an agreement for Nielsen can’t do it unilaterally and we’re showing everyone a way to do this with integrity and transparency that builds the treasury in the market. There is some enthusiasm and it will certainly be a big project for us this year to continue to focus on India and bring people together.”
There has been a question mark on the integrity of data collection and dissemination, which is a critical issue in India, Kenny said, it is a matter of concern not only in India but across the globe.
On the question of measurement currency being sold differently for various platforms is an issue, how does one have an integrated measurement for the advertiser, Kenny commented that it is so because each medium is measured differently. Today we are focused on one video platform, one audio platform, display and print.
Kenny said that all forms of entertainment content are being viewed on demand, the other content is sports and live events. News has its own set of audiences.
OTT viewing has surged across the globe, and people, as now both Bollywood and Hollywood have to think of the content they want to produce, to keep the audience hooked and wanting to go to the theatre. OTT platforms have caught the attention and the pulse of audiences and there are a lot more choices available today.
Kenny concluded by saying, India is really interesting because it’s the fastest-growing country and has an enormous population. Global brands are focused on it and that creates more demand which is exciting. Also today there is so much content streaming and brands are eager to be part of this journey and also reach out to their audiences.
