Nielsen creates streaming-specific ratings report

Nielsen continues to put a greater emphasis on streaming, announcing the launch of Nielsen Streaming Video Ratings, a new syndicated service meant to provide visibility into total viewership and advanced audience demographics insights by streaming platforms.

The Nielsen Streaming Video Ratings, powered by Nielsen’s NPOWER audience insights platform, aims to allow content creators, studios, platforms and advertisers to know which demographics (i.e. race, household income, device types, location) are engaging with content, where content opportunities might be, which platforms are gaining momentum and which categories are driving engagement.

Over the last year, in homes that are able to stream, Nielsen estimates that streaming has seen a 7% increase in time share with linear TV and VOD, going from 18% to 25%. The Nielsen Streaming Video Ratings highlighted what it will offer with an even more specific example, saying that Netflix accounts for about 7% of total time to the TV.

Other early findings include that one-third of streaming homes access between three and four SVOD services per month; nearly half of homes also use an ad-supported VOD service; and that vMVPD services are also gaining popularity among consumers.

Nielsen Streaming Video Ratings will include viewership details from 10 top streaming platforms, as well as seven categories of apps, including subscription-based, ad-supported, network, social, gaming, MVPD and vMVPD apps.

“By 2024, it’s estimated that streaming platforms will have amassed 210 million subscribers, which represents a staggering number of consumers and a major shift in media habits,” said Kevin Rini, senior vice president, Product Management, Nielsen. “Now more than ever, it’s important for our clients to have a clear understanding of the streaming landscape, both from a program or content perspective, which our SVOD service does, as well as at a macro view of audience consumption that takes into account the total use of streaming platforms comparable to linear TV. Nielsen Streaming Video Ratings does just that—rounding out our suite of streaming solutions and providing a  comprehensive view of streaming consumption and advanced audience demographics. It will help any business buying, selling or investing in media to have the clear picture of the impact of these consumer shifts.” TV Technology