Alan Frank, president of the six-station Post-Newsweek group, says that he has expanded his use of the Rentrak set-to-box viewing data because his problems with the local Nielsen services are "extraordinary and severe." He may not renew his Nielsen contract, he says.
P-N’s Frank: Local Nielsen Problems ‘Severe’
If Nielsen’s local TV ratings service doesn’t improve, Post-Newsweek Stations may drop it, said Alan Frank, president of the six-station group.
“Our Nielsen contract is still in effect, but we have not made any plans to renew it,” he said via email.
“The problems with Nielsen are extraordinary and severe yet they have shown no desire to address any of the issues that are causing inaccurate data in local markets.”
Frank made the comments yesterday after Rentrak announced that all the Post-Newsweek Stations had signed on to expand their use of Rentrak’s StationView Essentials ratings service, which is based on viewing data collected from more than 19 million cable and satellite set-top boxes.
Post-Newsweek had been using the service only in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Houston.
“The size of the Rentrak sample eliminates much of the daily drama and insanity of the local Nielsen numbers,” Frank said. “Rentrak has the potential to become a true alternative for local broadcasters.”
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Comments (2)
Jim Thomas says:
December 20, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Mr. Frank speaks for many in the TV industry that share his frustation with Neilson. Nice to see someone finally take action.
Halie Johnson says:
December 20, 2011 at 1:59 pm
If the more ad agencies would sign on with Rentrak we could see a huge shift in the ratings game. That’s one thing holding us back from signing up.