The Council for Research Excellence Issues Its First RFP Focused Upon Audience Consumption of Media

The Council for Research Excellence Issues Its First RFP Focused Upon Audience Consumption of Media

Council Conducts Research Efforts In Cooperation With Nielsen Media Research

NEW YORK, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council for Research Excellence today announced the availability of its initial Request for Proposal (RFP) focused upon Audience Consumption of Media. The mission of the Media Consumption committee of the Council for Research Excellence is to improve and evolve audience measurement through a comprehensive and ongoing study of media consumption. Overall, they seek to dimension the current consumption of media and how it is evolving, and will continue to evolve, over time in order to propose the optimal form of media measurement.

The issues identified for this RFP by the Media Consumption committee include, but are not limited to, media satisfaction and engagement, map of consumers' use of media by time of day and season of year, use of new technologies such as Digital Video Recorders and Video on Demand, and video consumption both in-home and out-of-home. The Council committee charged with addressing Media Consumption is co-chaired by Shari Anne Brill, Vice President - Director of Programming at Carat USA and Steve Sternberg, Executive Vice President - Director of Audience Analysis at Magna Global.

"The very definition of television viewing, and the landscape overall, is rapidly changing as DVRs and related time-shifted viewing, VOD, and a host of new mobile content providers are about to have a major impact on how, where, and when people receive and watch video content. Through this RFP, the Council for Research Excellence is attempting to gauge the effects of these evolving changes on overall media habits, media engagement, and other media dynamics as they occur," said Steve Sternberg.

In addition, Shari Anne Brill noted, "We are thrilled to be partnering with top research leaders as the Council for Research Excellence undertakes this groundbreaking industry initiative."

In regard to the availability of the RFP, Howard Shimmel, Senior Vice President of Client Insights at Nielsen Media Research stated, "We look forward to the results of this study, which should provide Nielsen Media Research and the industry with greater insights on media consumption and help decide priorities for the measurement of emerging and new technologies."

The Council's evaluation of this, and future, proposals will be based upon a supplier's ability to address all issues and questions in the RFP as well as their capabilities, experience, pricing, quality and the ability to meet deadlines. Suppliers could include research companies, consultants and academics, among others. All proposals pertaining to Audience Consumption of Media are to be submitted by February 10, 2006. Further specifics on this proposal and requirements can be found on The Council for Research Excellence website, http://www.researchexcellence.com/.

"I'm truly pleased by the progress of the Council for Research Excellence to date as our members have approached our work in a very positive and proactive way" said Mark Kaline, Global Media Manager at Ford Motor Company and Chairperson of The Council for Research Excellence. "In cooperation with Nielsen Media Research, the Council has made strong strides in identifying several key research issues that hold significance for, and present growing challenges to, diverse client segments. The availability of this first RFP serves as a milestone for the Council and presents new opportunities to the industry for ongoing dialogue, thought leadership and cooperation with respect to research and methodology."

Moving ahead in 2006, The Council for Research Excellence will be launching additional RFP's from its other committees, including Non-Response and Valid Use of Data.

About the Council for Research Excellence

Research and development provides the foundation for accurate and credible audience measurement. The Council for Research Excellence was created by Nielsen Media Research in 2005, via a dedicated $2.5 million R&D fund incremental to normal R&D investments. The Council serves as an independent forum for Nielsen to gain greater insight into industry perspectives on R&D development and collaborate further with its clients in R&D efforts to ensure their priorities are reflected in Nielsen's spending on methodological research. Members represent a broad range of client segments including national and local broadcast and cable, advertisers, national and local advertising agencies, ethnic media agencies, television station groups and syndicators, as well as public interest groups.

About Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research is the world's leading provider of television audience measurement and advertising information services. 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 electronic metered service in 56 markets. Nielsen Media Research is part of VNU Media Measurement and Information, a global leader in information services for the media and entertainment industries. VNU is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. The company employs 38,000 people. Total revenues under IFRS amounted to EUR 3.3 billion in 2004. VNU is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. For more information, please visit the VNU website at http://www.vnu.com/ and the Nielsen Media Research website at http://www.nielsenmedia.com/.

Source: The Council for Research Excellence

CONTACT: Richard Zackon of The Council for Research Excellence, +1-212-
586-8806, rzackon@researchexcellence.com

Web site: http://www.researchexcellence.com/
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/
http://www.vnu.com/

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