Logo

MediaPost

Game Changer for TV Ratings? TiVo Announces It Will Give the Data Away for Free

Oct 26, 2015  •  Post A Comment

In a move that is likely to shake things up in the TV ratings business, TiVo today took the wraps off a new pricing strategy for its ratings service, announcing that it will give away the basic TV data for free.

MediaPost reports that the plan will go into effect starting in the first quarter of 2016.

“The move — which follows consolidation in the audience measurement industry with comScore’s merger with Rentrak, and Nielsen’s efforts to expand its traditional TV ratings dominance into digital — is likely to put some pressure on those publicly traded companies,” MediaPost reports.

The report adds: “TiVo described the offering as a ‘platform for open TV ratings,’ and said it would include ‘aggregated, national, program-level ratings with basic demos’ from a panel derived from more than 2.3 million households.”

The company said the idea is to refocus “industry energy on a more relevant measurement standard.”

MediaPost notes: “TiVo’s move to offer basic ratings for free is a tacit recognition of how difficult it has been to establish an industry standard for digital set-top ratings, and likely is intended to make a mark by selling enhanced analytics on top of the free version. Among other things, TiVo Research has data on the consumer behaviors of its TV ratings households.”

tivo

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)