Rentrak And Nielsen Duel Over Measurement Crown

Rentrak is making headway in its battle for a bigger piece of the audience measurement business.

The firm’s announcement that it struck a long-term deal to provide local market TV ratings to Fox Television Stations follows similar deals with other TV companies recently. Sony Pictures TV enlisted Rentrak to measure syndicated TV shows and CBS began making use of the service in early 2014.

Nielsen, which has long been the industry leader for TV research, still provides the ratings currency upon which national TV advertising is bought and sold. Nielsen collects that data through surveys of a sample of US homes. But broadcasters, which have complained that Nielsen’s numbers understate their true ratings, can use the deals with Rentrak to put pressure on Nielsen.

Typically when broadcasters hire Rentrak they also keep using Nielsen. In the case of Fox Television Stations, an insider says it struck its deal with Rentrak as it negotiates a new contract with Nielsen, but say one has nothing to do with the other. But Fox’s statement about the Rentrak deal highlights its desire for a more refined audience measure.

“We expect this will accelerate the long overdue progress toward an accurate digital measuring system in local TV, one based on a census, not estimates, and one that measures all screens,” Fox Television Stations chief executive Jack Abernethy said.

Rentrak is appealing because it offers the ability to tie viewership to consumer buying habits, which can be a great advantage to marketers planning out local ads. Rentrak has struck agreements with cable and satellite providers to collect data from millions of set-top boxes in different markets. It matches that data with other data sets about consumer purchases.