NIELSEN MEDIA OFFERS PREDICTIONS BY THE MINUTE
By Adnews Staff
Nielsen Media Research of Toronto has released a new module for its Media Advisor R/F software package that can report the reach and frequency achievements of spot schedules based on the average minute ratings of a given program's total duration. The new Average Minute Reach/Frequency software module begins its work by using the spot schedule to calculate the average minute rating and gross rating points for a program or time period. It then calculates reach and frequency numbers based only on the viewers who have most probably seen the spot, as determined by the percentage of the program's duration that a viewer has watched. "Constant audience fluctuations mean predictions based on a single minute might not reflect the viewing pattern for the whole show," said Jeff Crockett, senior systems analyst at Nielsen Media. "That's why we developed the Average Minute R/F module - to smooth out single minute aberrations and come up with a stable average." The new module is available for the national, Ontario, Toronto and Vancouver markets.