ComScore’s big plan to challenge Nielsen

Crossplatform ratings are like the holy grail of media.

Everyone wants them. Many companies have pledged to deliver them. But they’ve proven much more difficult to produce in a timely and useful manner.

Now comScore says it’s going to start offering them, and soon, in a big challenge to Nielsen. The comScore announcement, made Wednesday, comes just weeks after its merger with Rentrak was approved.

Rentrak provides set-top box data that combined with comScore’s digital measurements will be used in the new ratings.

During a conference call with investors on Wednesday, comScore laid out an ambitious schedule to roll out cross-platform measurement for early April.

The ratings will include television, over-the-top services and digital viewing, and they’ll be released monthly. Data samples will include all cable, telco and satellite operators in the U.S.

The rollout, media people will note, is just a month before the broadcast networks make their upfront presentations, though it seems doubtful there will be enough time to vet the ratings to use as currency for buys.

During the conference call, comScore chief executive officer Serge Matta said clients and potential clients have been eager to see the new ratings. In fact, he said some had criticized the company for moving too slowly.

Matta also said there will be a vast expansion of the total home panel used to collect data, from 4,000 devices currently to 60,000 by summer and 300,000 by the close of 2016.

Not surprisingly, Nielsen was quick to respond to comScore’s news.

“Nielsen has the only total audience measurement, comparable across all screens, available to the market now. All of our data is fully representative of the U.S. population, and we deliver truly independent measurement,” the company said in a statement.

Media buyers and planners have been vocal over the years about their desire for cross-platform measurement and their belief that more competition could help improve the products being offered.

One of their complaints has been how slowly new products have moved out, while viewers’ media habits are shifting more rapidly.

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What questions do you have for comScore about the new ratings? Send them to toni@medialifemagazine.com or leave them in the comments section below and Media Life will track down the answers.

Tags: comscore, comscore ratings, nielsen, ratings, rentrak ratings, tv ratings