Watching TV has gone beyond sitting in front of your television screen to watch a show as it is aired as the inclusion of DVRs and online streams have made it possible to watch a new episode of your favorite show at any time. That’s why the Wall Street Journal’s report of Nielsen possibly launching a digital program to cover Internet streaming makes complete sense.
According to the WSJ, Nielsen’s TV ratings system will soon be able to count Internet views through its “Nielsen Digital Program Ratings” pilot program. The program will launch with participation from NBC, FOX, ABC, Univision, Discovery and A&E and will be able to track their respective shows’ viewership through streaming video that is posted on their respective website.
One of the downsides of this program is it’s only counting views from people who watch content on the Internet while they’re behind a computer, which means views on smartphones and tablets won’t be accounted for. Just being able to consider Internet viewers is certainly a step in the right direction, but we hope counting Internet viewers on mobile devices will become a natural progression of Nielsen’s supposed digital ratings program.
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