Nielsen Begins Including College Students Away from Home in Its National People Meter Sample

NEW YORK, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen Media Research announced that effective today it will begin including the viewing of college students living away from home in its National People Meter (NPM) ratings.

The introduction of this "Extended Home" viewing marks the first time that Nielsen will include in the ratings viewing by members of sample households living outside the home. Until today, television viewing by students in Nielsen families was only included when they were watching in their parents' home during school vacations or visits home.

Under the new system, viewing by sample students in their dorm rooms or off-campus apartments will be treated as if it were coming from an additional set within their families' homes. Their viewing while away at school will contribute to the ratings and viewing levels in the same way that it does when they are in the living rooms and bedrooms of their families' homes. Viewing will be included for students attending traditional colleges and universities as well as trade schools, culinary institutes and other higher education facilities.

"Nielsen is committed to continuously improving the scope of its television ratings, and adding college viewing to our ratings estimate provides a more complete picture of the overall television audience," said Sara Erichson, General Manager, National Services. "This 'extended home' measurement is the first in a series of steps we are taking to include non- traditional platforms in our estimates. Over the next several years, our Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiative will further expand our measurement to other video platforms, including streaming video and additional viewing outside the home."

The addition of college viewing comes after the successful completion of a three-year pilot program sponsored by several Nielsen clients, including Turner Broadcasting, The WB, CBS, MTV Networks, FOX and ESPN. The first year of the pilot program demonstrated Nielsen's ability to successfully recruit and install People Meters in college locations, including dormitories, sorority and fraternity houses, as well as off-campus apartments. The second and third years focused on understanding the ratings impact of including college location viewing.

The addition of college viewing to the Nielsen ratings could have a significant impact on the performance of some television programs. For example (see tables), in November 2006, the most recent period for which pilot data is available:

  * Among women age 18-24, the program with the largest rating increase when
    college viewing was added was "Grey's Anatomy," which increased by 4.6
    rating points, or 53% of its total viewing.
  * Among men age 18-24, the program with the largest rating increase when
    college viewing was added was Comedy Central's "Drawn Together," which
    increased by 1.2 rating points, or 63% of its total viewing.
  * The impact of adding college viewing among women was greatest on
    primetime dramas with strong female characters.
  * The impact of adding college viewing among men was greatest on football
    and animation programming.

  About Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research is the leading provider of television audience measurement and related services, worldwide. In the United States, Nielsen's National People Meter service provides audience estimates for all national program sources, including broadcast networks, cable networks, Spanish language networks, and national syndicators. Local ratings estimates are produced for television stations, regional cable networks, MSOs, cable interconnects, and Spanish language stations in each of the 210 television markets in the U.S., including People Meter service in ten markets and electronic set-metered service in 46 markets. For more information, please visit http://www.nielsenmedia.com/.

Nielsen Media Research is a part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, http://www.nielsen.com/.

                                 TABLE 1
      Impact of Adding College Viewing to Estimates for Women 18-24
                    November 2006 (10/30/06-11/26/06)
                           Based on Live+7 data

                                  W18-24                    W18-24
                                  Ratings                Total Persons

  Origin-    Program       Pro-   College   Pro-     Pro-   College   Pro-
   ator        Name        gram   Rating    gram     gram    Total    gram
                          Rating            Plus     Total  Viewing   Plus
                                           College  Viewing  (000)   College
                                           Rating    (000)            Total
                                                                     Viewing
                                                                      (000)
             GREY'S
  ABC        ANATOMY       8.6     4.6      13.2     1188     636     1824
             DESPERATE
  ABC        HOUSEWIVES    7.3     2.2       9.5     1012     303     1315
  WARNER     FRIENDS-
  BROS. TV   SYN           4.6     2.0       6.6      643     275      918
             AMERICA'S
  CW         NEXT TOP
             MODEL         4.1     1.6       5.7      563     220      783
             HOUSE
  FOX        Special-11/7  5.2     1.6       6.8      725     217      943
  FOX        HOUSE         5.3     1.5       6.8      733     214      948
             DESPERATE
  ABC        HOUSEWIVES
             Special       4.1     1.5       5.7      569     214      782
             BROTHERS &
  ABC        SISTERS       4.4     1.4       5.8      603     197      800
             ONE TREE
  CW         HILL          3.0     1.0       4.0      420     140      560
  ABC        UGLY BETTY    3.6     1.0       4.6      502     140      642


                                 TABLE 2
       Impact of Adding College Viewing To Estimates for Men 18-24
                    November 2006 (10/30/06-11/26/06)
                           Based on Live+7 data

                                  M18-24                    M18-24
                                  Ratings                Total Persons

  Origin-    Program       Pro-   College   Pro-     Pro-   College   Pro-
   ator        Name        gram   Rating    gram     gram    Total    gram
                          Rating            Plus     Total  Viewing   Plus
                                           College  Viewing  (000)   College
                                           Rating    (000)            Total
                                                                     Viewing
                                                                      (000)
  COMEDY     DRAWN
  CENTRAL    TOGETHER      1.9     1.2       3.1      272     163      435
             CBS NFL
  CBS        REGIONAL      3.9     1.2       5.1      548     163      711
             NBC SUNDAY
  NBC        NIGHT
             FOOTBALL      5.8     1.1       6.9      816     161      977
             CBS NFL
  CBS        NATIONAL      6.5     1.1       7.7      919     159     1078
             TNT BIG
  TNT        PICTURE
             MOVIES        0.3     1.0       1.4       47     144      191
             NFL REGULAR
  ESPN       SEASON L      3.7     0.9       4.6      519     129      648
  FOX        FAMILY GUY    8.1     0.9       8.9     1133     125     1258
             SIMPSONS SP-
  FOX        11/5 7:30P    5.2     0.9       6.1      733     122      854
  COMEDY     RON WHITE:
  CENTRAL    YOU CANT FIX  0.6     0.9       1.4       81     120      201
             ABC W NEWS
  ABC        TONIGHT
             Special       0.5     0.8       1.3       69     117      187

  Source: Nielsen Media Research