Rentrak Expands Ratings Deal With Raycom

Multi-screen media measurement firm Rentrak Corp. today announced that Raycom TV has signed a long-term contract expansion for Rentrak’s StationView Essentials local market census-based ratings service in 17 markets.

This more comprehensive contract includes the integration of the Polk Automotive and Political Segmentation information with Rentrak’s household and demographics ratings.  These allow Raycom to sell not only the size of its audiences, but also its “strength” of a particular auto purchaser or political segment, according to Rentrak.

Raycom signed with Rentrak in 2010 for service in two markets, Charlotte, N.C., and Birmingham, Ala. This new agreement expands usage to:

WXIX Cincinnati (35)

WFLX West Palm Beach, Fla. (38)

WBRC Birmingham, Ala. (39)

WAVE Louisville, Ky. (48)

WMC Memphis (49)

WWBT-WUPV Richmond, Va. (57)

WTNZ Knoxville, Tenn. (61)

KOLD-KMSB-KTTU Tucson, Ariz. (70)

WTOC Savannah, Ga. (92)

WLBT Jackson, Miss. (93)

WAFB Baton Rouge, La. (94)

WCSC Charleston, S.C. (98)

WMBF Myrtle Beach, S.C. (103)

KLTV Tyler, Texas (107)

WTVM-WXTX Columbus, Ga. (127)

“We believe Rentrak’s measurement can change the way our industry does business because there are significant advantages for both buyers and sellers of ad time,” said Paul McTear, Raycom president-CEO.  “We need to take the focus from measurement issues and put it back on the efficiency and effectiveness of local television.”

“Rentrak offers several important attributes our industry has been looking for in local measurement, including stability of data, consistency in methodology between markets, and daily ratings even in the smallest markets,” added Billy McDowell, VP Research at Raycom.

Rentrak offers a television ratings database currency that provides daily measurement of all U.S. TV networks in all 210 U.S. TV markets. The service incorporates data from more than 19 million satellite, telco and cable television sets and integrates it with product consumption information.