Tag Archives: Nielsen

Headline, Industry News

U.S. homes average 104.2 TV Channels

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NEW YORK, March 19 /PRNewswire/ – The number of television channels that the average U.S. home receives has now reached a record high of 104.2 TV channels. This and other television trends were released in a report from Nielsen that highlights population, television ownership and advertising trends in the United States.

Highlights from this Nielsen study include:

* In 2006, the average U.S. home received 104.2 channels, an increase of almost eight channels since 2005 and a record level.

* As the number of channels available to a household increases, so does the number of channels tuned. In 2006, the average household tuned to 15.7, or 15.1% of the 104.2 channels available for at least 10 minutes per week.

* General dramas still dominate the broadcast networks program lineups, comprising 50% (67 of 134) of the primetime programs, an increase of four programs since last year.

* The 30-second commercial is still the television advertising standard in primetime, accounting for 57% of all commercial units.

Number of Channels Available In 2006, the average home received 104.2 channels, an increase of almost eight channels since 2005. The percentage of homes receiving 100+ channels rose from 42% in 2005 to 47% in 2006, with 33% receiving between 60 and 99 channels, down 4% since 2005. Nielsen found that the average television household in the U.S. receives more than 17 broadcast TV channels, while 58% of all homes can receive 15 or more, and 36% receive 20 or more.

As the number of channels available to a household increased, so did the number of channels tuned, although the percentage of available channels actually viewed decreased. In 2006, the average household tuned to 15.7 (or 15.1%) of the 104.2 channels available. This compares to 2000, when the average home viewed 22.1% of the available channels (13.6 channels viewed out of 61.4 available channels).

Number of Channels Available in the Average U.S. Home

2006  104.2 

2005  96.4 

2004  92.6 

2000  61.4 

1995  41.1 

1990  33.2 

1985  18.8 

Source: Nielsen Media Research, National People Meter Sample

Headline, Industry News

Nielsen on Super Bowl Advertising

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NEW YORK, – The average commercial aired during Super Bowl XLI received a national television rating among persons older than age two of 32.1 and was viewed by 92.8 million people, according to The Nielsen Company, which today issued a summary of Super Bowl-related advertising measurement results from its media tracking businesses.

Since the average viewer rating for the Super Bowl program itself was 32.8, this means that the drop-off for the average commercial minute on the Super Bowl was 0.7 ratings points. These are "live plus same day" ratings derived from Nielsen’s NPOWER software system, which allows clients to determine the rating, including digital video recording (DVR) playback, for any minute of any television program. This is the first year that Nielsen has been able to report viewing from DVR playback.

Other highlights from Nielsen’s report are:

* The most viewed program minute during the Super Bowl was at 9:10 p.m. EST and seen by 99.9 million viewers. The rating was a 34.5

* The highest rated commercial minute was the Hewlett-Packard commercial at 9:25 p.m., which was seen by 99.5 million people

* The commercials that had the highest gain from DVR playback were by CareerBuilder.com and Doritos, both of which were viewed by 2.5 million people on DVR playback.
* There were 101 separate commercials telecast during 44 minutes and 10 seconds, compared to 96 commercials during 47 minutes and 18 seconds of commercial time during Super Bowl XL

* The company website that saw the biggest increase in online traffic after the Super Bowl was Career Builder Network
* The commercials with the biggest online "buzz" were the Budweiser and Bud Light commercials, generating 20% of all post-game online discussion
* According to an online poll, people who viewed the game in High Definition TV could recall 15% more of the commercials
* The advertiser with the most commercials was Anheuser-Busch
* The advertising category with the most commercials was beer Viewing the Commercials

Top Rated Commercials

The Hewlett-Packard commercial that ran at 9:25 p.m. was the most watched commercial during the Super Bowl. It had a rating of 35.1 and was seen by 99.5 million people. These "live plus same day" ratings include viewing that was recorded and played back on digital video recorders (DVRs) on Super Bowl Sunday.

Top-Rated Commercials

P2+, Live Plus Same Day

Commercial

Minute  Viewers

Rank Parent/Brand Description  Time  Rating (SD)  (000)

Hewlett-Packard

1  Man/Motorcycle/Computers  9:25 PM  35.1  99,493

Toyota Tundra

2  Truck Tows Load  8:55 PM  35.0  99,099

Fed-Ex Corp

3  Woman/People in Meeting  8:58 PM  34.6  98,213

4  Promo – CBS CSI  9:00 PM  34.5  97,893

Nationwide Mutual Insurance

Scenes from Music

5  Video/Restaurant  8:59 PM  34.5  97,669

Anheuser-Busch – Bud Light

5  Couple in Car/Man with Ax  8:59 PM  34.5  97,669

Anheuser-Busch – Bud Light

2 Gorillas/Woman/Man Delivers

7  Beer  8:43 PM  34.3  97,506

Revlon Hair Color

7  City/Woman/Highway/Plane  8:43 PM  34.3  97,506

CareerBuilder.com

9  Men in Office Gear Fight  8:48 PM  34.3  97,365

Taco Bell

9  Steak Grilled Taquitos/2 Lions  8:48 PM  34.3  97,365

Most-Viewed Commercials on DVR Playback

Almost 2.5 million people watched the CareerBuilder.com and Doritos commercials seen at 7:29 p.m. via DVR playback. Nielsen began adding households with Digital Video Recorders to its sample in late 2005 and this is the first Super Bowl in which DVR playback has been included in the television ratings. During Super Bowl XLI, all of the most played-back commercials appeared between 7:16 p.m. and 7:54 p.m.

Rank Parent/Brand Description  Time  (000)

CareerBuilder.com

1  Men in Woods  7:29 PM  2,486

Doritos

1  Man at Register  7:29 PM  2,486

Budweiser Beer

3  Dog Looks at Meat/Parade Horses  7:23 PM  2,456

Coca Cola

4  Nurse Gives Drink to Elderly Man  7:54 PM  2,446

Chevrolet

5  Women in Car/Men Take off Shirts  7:30 PM  2,408

Bud Light Beer

6  3 Men in Pool, People Get Slapped  7:35 PM  2,365

Coca Cola

7  Animated People/Man Drinks Coke  7:16 PM  2,335

Garmin LTD. Navigational Equipment

7  Man in Car/Giants Fight  7:24 PM  2,335

7  Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America  7:24 PM  2,335

7  Promo – CBS Football  7:24 PM  2,335

Walt Disney Co.

7  Wild Hogs Motion Picture  7:46 PM  2,335

Sprint

7  Man in Airport/Broadband Cards  7:46 PM  2,335

Top Categories, Advertisers, and Brands

According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the global leader in competitive advertising intelligence, this year’s Super Bowl aired 44 minutes and 10 seconds of commercial time, from 44 unique brands.

The categories that advertised the most this year are Beer, Automotive, Beverages, and Motion Pictures. In the top slot again, Beer aired 5 minutes of commercial time. Automotive and Beverages followed, each airing 4 1/2 minutes of ads. The Motion Picture category only ran 1 minute and 45 seconds of commercials this year.

The Beer category increased its airtime this year from 4 1/2 minutes in 2006 to 5 minutes. The perennial leading Super Bowl advertiser, Anheuser- Busch, was the leader again this year with 5 minutes of commercial time. The beer category included advertising for Bud Light, Budweiser and Bud Select. Bud Light aired three minutes of ads (six 30-second spots), Budweiser ran one 60-second and one 30-second ad, while Bud Select aired just one 30-second commercial.

The Automotive category increased time from last year as well, by 30 seconds to 4 1/2 minutes. Toyota Tundra Truck ran two 30-second ads, Honda CR-V ran a 30-second commercial, Chevrolet aired one 30-second and one 60- second ad, General Motors ran one minute-long commercial, and finally Honda aired one 30-second spot.

After a six-year absence, Coca-Cola returned to the Super Bowl, airing four commercials, totaling 3 minutes, including two 60-second ads. Coca-Cola was the second largest advertiser this year. Pepsi-Cola, a Top 3 advertiser for well over a decade, ran one minute of beverage commercials to promote its Sierra Mist soda. Snapple was the final advertiser in the Beverage category with one 30-second commercial for its Green Iced Tea.

The Motion Picture category reduced spending in this year’s game. Only 4 movies were advertised for a total of 1 minute, 45 seconds overall. Each movie ran just one spot: (Hannibal Rising, one 30-second ad; Meet the Robinsons, one 30-second spot; Pride, one 15-second commercial, and Wild Hogs at one 30-second ad). During the 2006 Super Bowl, 9 movies were advertised, totaling 4 1/2 minutes.

New advertisers to the 2007 Super Bowl include: Garmin, Hewlett-Packard, Revlon, American Heart Association, Flomax, T-Mobile, Phillips Van Heusen, Sales Genie, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Weinstein Co.

Top Categories

Category  Minutes of Exposure

Beer  5.0

Automotive  4.5

Beverage  4.5

Motion Pictures  1.8

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus

Top Brands  Commercial Time

Bud Light  3 minutes

Coca-Cola Classic  3 minutes

Budweiser  1 1/2 minutes

CareerBuilder.com  1 1/2 minutes

Doritos  1 1/2 minutes

Top Advertisers  Commercial Time

Anheuser-Busch  5 minutes

Coca-Cola  3 minutes

General Motors  2 1/2 minutes

Pepsi-Cola  2 1/2 minutes

Internet Users Flock to Super Bowl Advertisers’ Websites

Super Bowl advertisers showed impressive increases in traffic on their respective websites the day after the event, according to data compiled from Nielsen//NetRatings.  Out of all Super Bowl advertisers, CareerBuilder Network’s website pulled in the most unique audience with 1.6 million users, and also showed the most growth the next day increasing 148% from their Sunday usage levels. Hewlett Packard’s website followed with 1.4 million users which was a 74% growth from Super Bowl Sunday.

Super Bowl Advertisers with Fastest Sunday to Monday Unique Audience Growth Feb. 4-5 2007

Super Bowl Sunday  Mon., 2/5 UA Sun-Mon %

Site  UA (000)  (000)  Growth

CareerBuilder Network  654  1,623  148 %

Hewlett Packard  795  1,387  74 %

BLOCKBUSTER  457  736*  61 %

CBS Sportsline.com  761  1,188  56 %

CBS Television  527  622*  18 %

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings (U.S., Home and Work)

Note: Includes only those Web sites that fell above minimum reporting

levels on both days.
* These web sites do not meet minimum sample size standards. Projected and

average measures for these sites may exhibit large changes

month-to-month as a result.

Top Super Bowl Ads by Buzz Volume

What was the buzz around the water cooler after the highly anticipated 2007 Super Bowl Ads debuted? According to Nielsen BuzzMetrics, Nationwide "Life Comes at You Fast" and Snickers "Mechanic" were the two most actively blogged about individual ads the day after the game. These ads were also the most actively blogged about the day of the game. The Budweiser and Bud Light ads made up 20% of all Super Bowl ad mentions. Coke "Video Game" received more attention than the other Coke ads. Coca-Cola’s aggregated presence is in the top ten in terms of buzz.

Buzz

Advertisement  Volume
%

Budweiser/Bud Light (Aggregated)  20.6

Nationwide Insurance  9.8

Snickers: Mechanic  9.8

Doritos: (2 Aggregated)  7.9

Bud Light: Rock, Paper, Scissors  7.2

GM: Robots  6.0

Coca-Cola: Aggregated  5.3

GoDaddy.com: Marketing  4.6

Blockbuster: Mouse  4.3

CareerBuilder.com (2 Aggregated)  4.1

Source: Nielsen BuzzMetrics

Advertising and High Definition TV

In order to learn more about Super Bowl commercials and viewing in High Definition, Nielsen Media Research conducted an online study following the Super Bowl. In this survey, conducted between 10:00 a.m. on Monday and 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 247 randomly selected individuals over age 12 were asked about their Super Bowl viewing experience. Highlights include:

* People who viewed the Super Bowl on a High Definition TV set were 168%

more likely to view the game in a group of 6 or more people.
* People who viewed the game in HD could recall 15% more of the

commercials.
* HD viewers were 27% more likely to find the ads in this year’s Super

Bowl at least as entertaining as last year’s Super Bowl.
* Super Bowl viewers were able to absorb the large number of ads

associated with the game. The more commercials they were exposed to,

the more they were able to recall. Viewers who viewed the entire game

recalled 21% more ads than those who viewed 75% of the game

Headline, Industry News

VNU, will cut 4,000 jobs in 2007

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AMSTERDAM (AP) _ VNU Group BV, which owns Nielsen’s television ratings service, said Monday it will cut 4,000 jobs, or around 10 per cent of its workforce, as part of a major reorganization.

VNU was purchased by a consortium of private-equity investors in May for 7.7 billion euros (US$9.7 billion) after a takeover struggle.

Since the buyout, VNU has established dual headquarters in New York and the Dutch city of Haarlem. The company didn’t say where the layoffs will fall, but most of its operations are in the United States.

In addition to the well-known television rating service, VNU operates a marketing information arm and a publishing arm known for producing Billboard, Adweek and Hollywood Reporter magazines.

In 2005, VNU employed 42,000 people and had sales of 3.5 billion euros. The company said the job cuts were needed to trim costs as it simplifies the organization’s structure.

The consortium that bought VNU was comprised of AlpInvest Partners NV, The Blackstone Group LP, The Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP, and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.

In October, VNU offered to buy the 40 per cent of NetRatings Inc., a rating service for websites, that it doesn’t already own for about $225.6 million.