Effort to help television ecosystem unlock additional impressions and value across OTT and STB VOD inventory

Today, Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN) and FreeWheel, A Comcast company (Nasdaq: CMCSA), announced plans to expand measurement to over-the-top and set-top box video on demand inventory. This effort will enhance the value of the television ecosystem through additional data-enabled, targetable premium digital video platforms for programmers, MVPDs, agencies and advertisers to effectively reach consumers. This announcement comes six months after Nielsen announced that it was integrating Comcast’s non-personally identifiable TV viewing data with its comprehensive panel data.

Nielsen will work with FreeWheel to expand measurement to over-the-top inventory and addressable set-top box video on demand. These efforts are aimed at unlocking greater understanding of the total television marketplace, allowing advertisers to take advantage of additional impressions and expanding overall TV ecosystem market liquidity via FreeWheel Advertisers, Markets and Publishers divisions.

“Nielsen is committed to building measurement solutions that account for the entire television ecosystem, from linear and—in view of our plans with Comcast and FreeWheel—across over-the top and set-top box video on demand inventory,” said Megan Clarken, Global President of Watch at Nielsen. “This solution will be critical to further unlock the power of television, wherever and however a consumer is watching that content.”

“The work Comcast and FreeWheel will be doing with Nielsen to make television, in all its forms, data-enabled, targetable and measurable is another step to unify TV as a platform,” said Marcien Jenckes, President, Advertising, Comcast Cable. “These efforts will add to the robust picture of viewership trends, further strengthening the currency used by the entire TV industry.”

Nielsen and FreeWheel plan to provide more details about this broader initiative ahead of the 2019 TV Upfront.

ABOUT COMCAST
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal.  Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand, and also provides these services to businesses.  It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the XFINITY brand.  NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

ABOUT NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide. Our approach marries proprietary Nielsen data with other data sources to help clients around the world understand what’s happening now, what’s happening next, and how to best act on this knowledge. For more than 90 years Nielsen has provided data and analytics based on scientific rigor and innovation, continually developing new ways to answer the most important questions facing the media, advertising, retail and fast-moving consumer goods industries. An S&P 500 company, Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world’s population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.