Nielsen and Syncbak Testing Could Revolutionize TV Viewing

In today’s ever increasing technological age, mobile phones and tablets are able to do more and more.  Nielsen and Syncbak, two streaming companies whose technology gives viewers the capability to watch local TV broadcasts within a station’s range, realized this when starting their company.   I can see no other reason as to why a broadcast station wouldn’t want you to be able to view their programs on your mobile phone or tablet other than it would affect their ratings and number of viewers, which would result in limiting the number of people who are exposed to the advertisements companies have paid them to put on the air.   At Nielson and Syncbak they have recently completed a two-week trial verifying that broadcasters can get measurable online viewing data.  Stations that were tested in mobile and tablet measurement were WCBS in New York, WLNY in Long Island, and KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles, which are all CBS stations as CBS is an investor in Syncbak.   So there you have it broadcasters – viewing numbers can indeed be measured through a tablet or phone.  This data has the potential to cause some drastic changes not only in television viewing, but also for advertising purposes.   So far, about 200 stations have partnered up with Syncbak.  Among the stations that are linked is Gray Television.  They have announced that all 41 of their stations will go onto the mobile and tablet platform.   Those stations will now be able to further expand their advertisements to phones and tablets, which is a crucial gain as local television advertising was expected to rise around only 1.3% this year – less than most other ad sectors.  If stations are able to gain a constant growing mobile and tablet audience, they can deliver the same content they provide over the air all while broadening the promotions of local businesses to their local audience.   This all seems like such a big step for broadcasting companies, but Jack Myers, chairman of Myers Media Business Network and also the author of Hooked Up, states, “So much media consumption is on mobile – they have no choice but to be there.”     The full article can be read here:   http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/201870/syncbak-nielsen-test-is-an-important-step-for-bro.html?edition=60896#axzz2Vp3jTjbT