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

New York, NY, US, January 29, 2007 – 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 www.NielsenMedia.com.

About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is 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) and trade shows. 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.