Television ratings provider Nielsen will begin installing devices into U.S. homes that measure online activity in addition to TV viewing habits, reports Ad Age. The company’s goal is to create a single source of data measuring audiences for both internet content and traditional TV viewing. Nielsen is installing 7,500 of its new meters starting this month with the hope of delivering its first data set by summer of next year.
Ad Age says Nielsen had been under pressure to deliver a way to tie its measurement of TV viewing habits with digital media consumption, or face the prospect of being replaced as the standard for TV ratings. The pressure came from TV networks struggling to figure out ways to sell their content to growing internet TV destinations such as Hulu, and needing a way to measure and price ads placed online. Nielsen had initially predicted that the earliest rollout of a single measurement source would be 2011. It had been testing its internet devices in 400 homes to ensure that the data didn’t taint its TV ratings measurements.
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