Nielsen Strikes Out-of-Home Measurement Pact With CNN, Turner Sports – Variety

Time Warner’s CNN and Turner Sports will take part in Nielsen’s service that measures so-called “out of home” viewership, the latest signal that the media industry is working to capture audiences watching video programming in ways that have not been counted as seriously in the past.

Under terms of the agreement, the Turner units will get viewership credit for both program and commercial ratings for up to seven days of viewing of various pieces of content. CNN is the first news network to make use of the Nielsen technology. Time Warner joins Disney’s ESPN and 21st Century Fox’s Fox Sports in subscribing to the service.

Out-of-home viewing, defined as video consumption that takes place in offices, hotels, bars, gyms, and other venues that are not a viewer’s home is important in particular to sports and news outlets, which derive  a major part of their audience from people working in offices or watching TV while on the go in airports. Sports networks  also appreciate the measurement, as viewers are just as likely to watch their offerings at a watering hole or pal’s house as they are their own family room.

“Viewers tune into CNN for the latest news and information from wherever they are throughout the day,” said Robin Garfield, senior vice president of research and scheduling for CNN, in a statement. CNN has been making ad deals based on Nielsen measurement since 2014,  she said.  “Our partnership with Nielsen doubles down on the investments we have made, and will provide influencers and advertisers with a more complete picture of the audience value we are delivering.”

“Sports viewing is an immensely social activity; taking in a game at the local bar, for example,” said Jay Leon, vice president of Turner Sports Research, in a statement. “These are highly
engaged sports fans, and it’s important to accumulate a full understanding of those out-of-home audiences as a key component of how video is consumed on all devices and platforms. With Nielsen’s National Out-of-Home Reporting Service, we are taking another step forward in delivering those holistic insights for our advertising partners.”

Earlier this week, Nielsen unveiled plans to measure live-TV viewing on Hulu and Google’s YouTube TV.