Nielsen Plans to Track Viewership Of TV Commercials for First Time

NIELSEN PLANS TO TRACK VIEWERSHIP OF TV COMMERCIALS FOR FIRST TIME
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Brian Steinberg brian.steinberg@wsj.com and Brooks Barnes]
Nielsen Media Research, the firm that calculates national television ratings, plans to answer one of advertising's most pressing questions: How many people actually watch TV commercials? In November, Nielsen will begin for the first time to provide formal ratings for commercial breaks, a move with far-reaching implications for the fast-changing media world. Both TV networks and advertisers expect the new Nielsen ratings will show that viewership declines noticeably when a program breaks for commercials. A particularly big drop could fuel advertisers' push for changes in how ads are incorporated into shows, reinforcing demands for fewer or shorter ad breaks and lower ad rates. It could also accelerate the flow of advertising dollars out of television to the Internet and new digital media. Any softening of ad prices would be a big blow for the nation's TV networks and their parent companies. Media stocks overall have been depressed in recent years as technology has whipsawed the industry. Many big advertisers have already cut back on traditional TV spots. General Motors Corp., for example, says its spending on 30-second prime-time commercials declined by 50% in the five years between 2000 and 2005.
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