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Back to Articles page at TNG Research TV: Where you like it.by Dave Zornow When Nielsen reported viewing for last July's space shuttle launch, they "missed" some people. One in four Discovery launch viewers in Houston watched somewhere other than at home and weren't included in the ratings. That's because out-of-home viewing is off the radar. Arbitron, a former rival and sometimes joint venture partner with Nielsen, has reported this information using a portable, personal and passive technology in Houston that captures TV viewing wherever it occurs. Nielsen's household-based methodology has always been challenged to collect ratings from "group quarters" such as college dorms, military barracks and bars. Because it's so hard to get bar patrons to properly log in and out of people meters (much less get them to remember to tip their waiters and waitresses at closing), Nielsen made a sound research judgment 50+ years ago when they decided to exclude this small and difficult-to-measure group. Apparently, this isn't such a small group anymore. Out-of-home is a big deal for networks like The Golf Channel which longs to include 19th hole viewers in their ratings. MTV wants credit for college students watching in dorms. And ESPN says if the unmeasured were counted, they'd see a 13% bump in sports audiences. Citing the Fall 2004 Total TV Audience Monitor, ESPN says the average adult watches 7+ hours per week out-of-home. Although you might expect to see higher ratings for the Space Shuttle in the hometown of the Johnson Space Center, Arbitron says out-of-home viewing isn't limited to special events -- or just men watching sports in bars, either. Women and men view TV out-of-home in almost equal amounts with women's greatest contribution occurring during daytime. To complicate matters, TV is becoming more mobile. You can now watch video on your cell phones via VCast from Verizon and MobiTV from Cingular and Sprint. Both services offer repurposed content in short clips users can "TV snack" at airports, checkout lines and while sitting in traffic. Will research suppliers be able to measure this? Is this new type of TV worthy of including in syndicated measurements? Stay tuned for the answer - wherever you might be watching. ## |