Nielsen will be making the data it has about connected-TV devices available to clients effective April 25.
The information will enable clients to study how much time people spend with these gadgets—including streaming video devices and game consoles—and form Nielsen-measured content and link viewing of programs to these specific devices.
Nielsen is creating a new viewing source bucket called Total Use of Television (TUT) that adds TV-connected device usage to traditional television usage for a complete view of the use of the TV set.
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The move is part of Nielsen's attempt to broaden the amount of viewing information it collects on all screens and devices and incorporate it into the reports it gives its media and advertising clients.
The new data is from Nielsen's national television panel, which provides representative information about consumer viewing behavior. The panel includes 40,000 households, with 100,000 TV sets and more than 50,000 devices, all of which are measured by Nielsen.
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Clients will be able to track how many TV-connected devices are owned by consumers by brand, enabling them to track which brands and which devices are growing in popularity and usage.
"The granularity of the brand-level data for TV connected devices provides clients with in-depth insights into which devices consumers are using to access video content through their TV screens," said Sara Erichson, executive VP, client solutions and audience insights at Nielsen. "The ability to know how many consumers use which brands of TV connected devices, for how often and for how long, is critical for clients who need to make informed content decisions and understand their total audience."
