Karthik Rao

About

Nielsen CEO of audience measurement, Karthik Rao, in a letter to the VAB wrote, “However, the search for perfection risks further delaying the measurement innovations that will ultimately help drive the industry into the future. We believe that our principled, transparent and open approach to integrating first-party data requires all publishers to play by the same rules and will accelerate the industry’s move toward a streaming-first world.” [...] In the aftermath of the announcement, broadcast networks vehemently denounced Nielsen’s decision and demanded Nielsen to stop the initiative. Sean Cunningham, president and CEO of the Video Advertising Bureau, a trade group representing television networks, said Nielsen’s use of Amazon data was setting a “dangerous precedent” and was putting the “thumb on the scale” in favor of TNF, more than the other networks (CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC/ESPN) that carry NFL games. [...] With the continued pushback from television networks (and some advertisers), on September 7, Nielsen announced they would not incorporate Amazon’s first-party data into TNF ratings. In a statement, Nielsen said, “Our aim is to ensure the process with which we introduce new ways of measuring audiences is inclusive of client feedback and held to the highest standards. For now, Nielsen’s panel-only National TV service consisting (of about 42,000 households nationwide), will remain the currency of record. First-party data will be included in big data in national measurement