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CBS and Nielsen Kick-Start Local Broadcast Cross-Media Measurement With the First-Ever Trial Combining Local Television and Radio Audience Data

4 minute read | October 2013

Initial Phase Will Cover Television and Radio Propertiesin Several Local Markets with the Newly AcquiredNielsen Audio Capabilities

New York — Oct. 31, 2013 — Nielsen and CBS today announced the media company’s participation in Nielsen’s first-ever trial to measure cross-media campaigns on local television and radio. The trial will focus on combining CBS local TV audience data with CBS Radio audience data to build a foundation that measures unduplicated reach and time spent across both media. In addition, the trial will measure reach and frequency for campaigns that run on both local TV and radio. The test results will expand local media planning analytics and develop more robust inputs for marketing mix modeling. As this pilot test develops, Nielsen intends to open participation across a wider group of clients for the benefit of the industry.

By looking at their audience across local TV and radio in a given month, CBS is exploring the development of an analytic framework that would allow media planners to develop cross-media strategies to maximize reach as well as address the issues of day-to-day and week-to-week reach, distribution and the concept of “recency.”

“In today’s multi-platform advertising environment, it is not enough to set full campaign reach and frequency targets,” said David F. Poltrack, Chief Research Officer, CBS Corp. “The advertiser must distribute the exposure to their message over time – and in a manner that assures that each potential purchaser is exposed to that message in a consistent manner before each purchase occasion. With our strong combination of television and radio stations in major markets and the extension of these local stations over online and mobile platforms, CBS is uniquely positioned to provide advertisers with the combination of market penetration and controlled frequency distribution needed to optimize the return from their media investments in these markets. Armed with this new cross-platform, local market custom analysis, each advertiser will be able to use these powerful media to their full potential and both TV and radio stations nationwide will benefit.”

“We are very pleased to be working with CBS to bring together television and radio measurement as a result of our newly acquired Nielsen Audio capabilities and for the benefit of all clients,” stated Lynda Clarizio, President U.S. Media, Nielsen. “Developing new models of cross-media measurement allow our clients to identify expanded markets of potentially loyal consumers of products or content.”

The test will combine data from Nielsen’s Local People Meter panel with data from the newly acquired Nielsen Audio’s PPM panel to provide the cross-platform measurement. Results will be shared in late Q1 2014.

CBS and Nielsen have a history of collaboration and innovation regarding multi-platform measurement on a local level. Earlier this year, Nielsen announced the successful completion of a two-week technical trial with CBS aimed at capturing and measuring viewing of television content on mobile devices using Syncbak technology.

ABOUT CBS CORP.

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company that creates and distributes industry-leading content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world. The Company has businesses with origins that date back to the dawn of the broadcasting age as well as new ventures that operate on the leading edge of media. CBS owns the most-watched television network in the U.S. and one of the world’s largest libraries of entertainment content, making its brand – “the Eye” – one of the most recognized in business. The Company’s operations span virtually every field of media and entertainment, including cable, publishing, radio, local TV, film, outdoor advertising, and interactive and socially responsible media. CBS’s businesses include CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network, TVGN (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Lionsgate), Smithsonian Networks, Simon & Schuster, CBS Television Stations, CBS Radio, CBS Outdoor, CBS Television Studios, CBS Global Distribution Group (CBS Studios International and CBS Television Distribution), CBS Interactive, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Films and CBS EcoMedia. For more information, go to www.cbscorporation.com.

ABOUT NIELSEN

Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA, and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

PRESS CONTACTS:

CBS: Shannon Jacobs, sljacobs@cbs.comNielsen: Flavie Lemarchand-Wood, flavie.lemarchand-wood@nielsen.com