The stock of Nielsen Holdings PLC (NYSE:NLSN) closed at $41.69 gaining 4.22% in yesterday’s trading session. It plunged a lot of people into confusion after Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) came forward to oppose the statement the company had made earlier about its ability to measure Netflix viewership.
In its statement, the audience measurement company expressed great pride in its ability to track the number of people watching Netflix shows such as The Crown and Stranger Things. Netflix remains unconvinced.
Over the years, Nielsen’s name has remained synonymous with cable TV and network ratings. It has been seen directing efforts into the expansion of its measurement capabilities and the target has been to cover the rapidly-growing streaming entertainment market.
In the meantime, Netflix together with a number of other big streaming layers have been seen as overly protective of their viewership data. Unlike its traditional TV rivals, Netflix doesn’t heavily rely on the ad sales.
Nielsen has today announced a new service called Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) Content Ratings and this will help the various media subscribers know the number of people watching the large number of titles streaming on Netflix. The audience and household demographic data provided by Nielsen is expected to distinguish the Netflix audiences on the basis of gender and age respectively.
The passage of time is witnessing major expansions in SVOD services in the entertainment markets around the globe. The rights owners have been seeking to strike a better understanding of the size and composition of audiences to the various platforms and the associated programs.
The president of Nielsen’s media measurement unit, Megan Clarken, in a statement outlined that the syndication of SVOD measurement was a big step forward in moving towards transparency within the SVOD marketplace.
A Netflix spokesperson opined, “Netflix is making no secret of its skepticism when it comes to Nielsen’s latest attempt to capture its audience data. The data that Nielsen is reporting is not accurate, not even close, and does not reflect the viewing of these shows on Netflix.”