Nielsen and FreeWheel partner on OTT and STB VOD measurement

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018
Nielsen logo

Nielsen And FreeWheel To Expand Measurement Across Over-The-Top And Set-Top Box Video On Demand Inventory

  • Effort to help television ecosystem unlock additional impressions and value across OTT and STB VOD inventory

NEW YORK — Today, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and FreeWheel, A Comcast Company (Nasdaq: CMCSA), announced plans to expand measurement to over-the-top and set-top box video on demand inventory. This effort will enhance the value of the television ecosystem through additional data-enabled, targetable premium digital video platforms for programmers, MVPDs, agencies and advertisers to effectively reach consumers. This announcement comes six months after Nielsen announced that it was integrating Comcast’s non-personally identifiable TV viewing data with its comprehensive panel data.

Nielsen will work with FreeWheel to expand measurement to over-the-top inventory and addressable set-top box video on demand. These efforts are aimed at unlocking greater understanding of the total television marketplace, allowing advertisers to take advantage of additional impressions and expanding overall TV ecosystem market liquidity via FreeWheel Advertisers, Markets and Publishers divisions.

“Nielsen is committed to building measurement solutions that account for the entire television ecosystem, from linear and — in view of our plans with Comcast and FreeWheel — across over-the top and set-top box video on demand inventory,” said Megan Clarken, Global President of Watch at Nielsen. “This solution will be critical to further unlock the power of television, wherever and however a consumer is watching that content.”

“The work Comcast and FreeWheel will be doing with Nielsen to make television, in all its forms, data-enabled, targetable and measurable is another step to unify TV as a platform,” said Marcien Jenckes, President, Advertising, Comcast Cable. “These efforts will add to the robust picture of viewership trends, further strengthening the currency used by the entire TV industry.”

Nielsen and FreeWheel plan to provide more details about this broader initiative ahead of the 2019 TV Upfront.