Nielsen to Introduce Fully Electronic Television Ratings Measurement to 38 Additional Markets

Nielsen to Introduce Fully Electronic Television Ratings Measurement to 38 Additional Markets

70% of U.S. Households Will be Electronically Measured with People Meters by 2011, Providing Continuous Demographic Ratings Throughout the Year

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nielsen Company today announced a timetable to introduce electronic Local People Meters (LPMs) to 38 additional markets by 2011, bringing to 56 the number of local markets that will by 2011 have television ratings derived from the most advanced television ratings technology. All the 38 markets identified today are currently measured by a combination of Set Meters and handwritten Diaries.

Local People Meters are advanced electronic devices that continuously record television viewing behavior in real time all year long. The meters, placed in sample homes, accurately record who is watching what programs, and allows the measurement of various kinds of TV viewing activities, including broadcast and cable television, mobile video devices, video games, Digital Video Recorders, video on demand and other timeshifting.

When LPMs are introduced into the full 56 local markets, about 70% of U.S. households will be measured by People Meters. As a consequence, there will be continuous demographic reporting in these markets 365 days per year. This will allow local markets to receive demographic information for events such as March Madness, playoff games, award shows, and Christmas holiday programming, which typically air outside traditional "sweeps" measurement periods.

Introducing electronic measurement to all local markets is part of Nielsen's Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiative. The ten largest local U.S. markets are already measured by LPMs, and plans for eight more that will be converted in 2007 and 2008 were previously announced. The schedule released today identifies the remainder of the Set Meter/Diary markets that will be converted to LPMs.

"This is a tremendous step forward for television measurement in these markets," said Susan Whiting, Executive Vice President, the Nielsen Company, and Chairman, Nielsen Media Research. "Nielsen is committed to continuous improvement in its measurement services and converting markets to our electronic Local People Meters will significant improve the quality of our local measurement. As a key part of this process, we are also committed to working closely with the clients and stakeholders in every market to make the transition as smooth as possible."

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), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

DMA Name 2008 Target Prelim
DMA Sample Period LPM Live

Rank Size (Start) Date

Markets Previously Announced
Houston 10 600 July 2007 Oct 2007

Phoenix (Prescott) 12 600 Jan 2008 April 2008

Tampa-St. Petersburg 13 600 July 2007 Oct 2007

Seattle-Tacoma 14 600 July 2007 Oct 2007

Minneapolis-St. Paul 15 600 Jun 2008 Sept 2008

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 16 600 July 2008 Oct 2008

Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 17 600 Jun 2008 Sept 2008

Denver 18 600 July 2008 Oct 2008

Markets Announced Today
Orlando-Daytona Beach-
Melbourne 19 600 Nov 2008 Jan 2009

Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto 20 600 Nov 2008 Jan 2009

St. Louis 21 600 Nov 2008 Jan 2009

Pittsburgh 22 600 Jan 2009 Apr 2009

Portland, OR 23 600 Jan 2009 Apr 2009

Baltimore 24 600 Jan 2009 Apr 2009

Charlotte 25 600 May 2009 Aug 2009

Indianapolis 26 600 May 2009 Aug 2009

San Diego 27 600 May 2009 Aug 2009

Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville) 28 600 July 2009 Oct 2009

Hartford & New Haven 29 600 July 2009 Oct 2009

Nashville 30 600 July 2009 Oct 2009

Kansas City 31 550 Jan 2010 Apr 2010

Columbus, OH 32 600 Jan 2010 Apr 2010

Cincinnati 33 550 Jan 2010 Apr 2010

Milwaukee 34 550 Jan 2010 Apr 2010

Salt Lake City 35 550 May 2010 Aug 2010

Greenville-Spartanburg-
Asheville-Anderson 36 600 May 2010 Aug 2010

San Antonio 37 550 May 2010 Aug 2010

West Palm Beach 38 550 May 2010 Aug 2010

Birmingham (Anniston and
Tuscaloosa) 40 550 July 2010 Oct 2010

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News 42 550 July 2010 Oct 2010

Las Vegas 43 550 July 2010 Oct 2010

Albuquerque-Santa Fe 44 550 July 2010 Oct 2010

Oklahoma City 45 550 Nov 2010 Feb 2011

Greensboro-High Point-
Winston-Salem 46 600 Nov 2010 Feb 2011

Memphis 47 550 Nov 2010 Feb 2011

Louisville 48 550 Nov 2010 Feb 2011

Jacksonville 49 500 Jan 2011 Apr 2011

Buffalo 50 500 Jan 2011 Apr 2011

Austin 51 500 Jan 2011 Apr 2011

Providence-New Bedford 52 500 Jan 2011 Apr 2011

New Orleans 53 500 May 2011 Aug 2011

Knoxville 58 500 May 2011 Aug 2011

Richmond-Petersburg 59 500 May 2011 Aug 2011

Tulsa 60 500 July 2011 Oct 2011

Dayton 62 500 July 2011 Oct 2011

Ft. Myers-Naples 63 500 July 2011 Oct 2011

***Dates effective with first day of the measurement month***

Source: The Nielsen Company

CONTACT: Anne Elliot, +1-646-808-4044, or Gary Holmes, +1-646-654-8975,
both for The Nielsen Company

Web site:

http://www.nielsen.com/

-------
Profile: intent