Given the growing number of cord-cutters in the U.S. as more shift from broadcast TV to a variety of streaming services, Nielsen (NLSN) is pivoting its business model to ride this Connected Society tailwind. Give the enormous pool of advertising dollars that are at stake given the shift in viewer consumption habits it makes perfect sense that Nielsen would look to remain relevant lest it sees this revenue stream evaporate alongside the number of people still watching broadcast TV.  As the new ratings are tallied and compared, we suspect that Nielsen’s findings will confirm our Content is King investment theme as well.

Nielsen is hoping to make the viewership numbers for the shows airing on streaming services a little less of a mystery. The company is today announcing a new service, Nielsen Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) Content Ratings, to measure streaming services’ programs in a way that’s comparable to linear TV. That includes ratings, reaches, frequency and segmentation reporting, Nielsen says.In other words, the service won’t just track the number of people streaming a show, but the audience makeup as well – like the viewers’ ages, for example. It will also help content producers track their shows’ full lifecycle – from airing on TV, to time-shifted viewing via DVRs and other on-demand options to streaming services.

Nielsen’s new offering initially only works with Netflix, but expects to add Amazon Prime and Hulu in 2018.

Source: Nielsen will now measure TV audiences on Netflix | TechCrunch