Nielsen VideoScan

Overview

VideoScan and ACNielsen (a partnership since January 2000, and sister companies since 2001) seamlessly integrate point-of-sale (POS) data collected by both companies to provide a comprehensive view of the VHS and DVD sell-through business.

VideoScan, a leader in video market research since 1993, manages the business on behalf of the partnership. With its strong history and relationships with studios and electronic/specialty retailers, VideoScan provides industry-wide expertise and perspective.

ACNielsen, the leader in data services to the consumer packaged goods industry, brings its powerful analytic capabilities and broad coverage of the discount mass, grocery and drug retailers to the partnership.

Together, VideoScan and ACNielsen are the acknowledged leader in consumer research for the VHS and DVD sell-through industry. The partnership between VideoScan and ACNielsen is known as Nielsen VideoScan.

Features & Benefits

Sell-through POS (consumer purchase) sales data are collected weekly from traditional channels of video distribution including mass merchants, audio/video and video specialty retailers, electronics outlets, grocery stores, drug stores, and some Internet sites. Nielsen VideoScan maintains this weekly POS data in one of the largest databases of VHS and DVD products in the country. Data is collected on more than 40,000 VHS items and 12,000 DVD items. Virtually every UPC code in sell-through release since 1993 can be found in our extensive database. Complete sales data in all retail channels are available as far back as January 1999 (however Wal*Mart data is included only through 7/28/01). Prior to January 1999, limited information is available in most channels going back to 1993.

Nielsen VideoScan's VHS and DVD sell-through data are made available through the Nielsen VideoScan web site and the ACNielsen NITRO data delivery system. The following represents some typical report types available:

• Title Reports with sales for each title categorized nationally, regionally (by DMA) and by retail channel.
• Sales History Reports providing week-by-week title sales since 1999 or release date
  (if later).
• Summary Reports providing industry overviews comparing sales from previous years as well as weekly comparisons to the prior year.
• Market Share Reports giving annual and weekly market shares by distributor/label.
• Top 100 Charts for numerous categories rank the top titles by unit sales. Charts are available for the current week's sales or for cumulative year-to-date sales. Prior year-end charts are also available. Chart categories include distributors and selected genres.

Client Base

Nielsen VideoScan's VHS and DVD sales charts are currently published in Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Video Store Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Hollywood @ Home, The Globe & Mail and others.

While most of our clients choose annual subscriptions, we also work with customers on a project-by-project basis. We can handle everything from sophisticated marketing and sales research and planning to simple one title sales ad-hoc requests.