A+E Networks Ad Sales President Peter Olsen On How Company Blends Nielsen With Other Tools To Ensure That “Every Person Counts”
deadline.comPeter Olsen, president of ad sales, sees a blended future for the ad-supported TV business, but one in which Nielsen will continue to play a central role.“Nielsen is still going to be the backbone of everything, as imperfect as it may be,” the exec predicted in an interview with Deadline ahead of the company’s virtual upfront today. “Newer players pushing into the industry all add a certain value.
What we’re learning is that there’s value beyond the GRP or the impression. That’s what these new tools can kind of bring to the fore.”The media business has been in a state of upheaval over Nielsen since it emerged last year that the company undercounted linear and streaming viewership.
While there has been friction for decades between networks and the third-party firm, the epic pivot to streaming has set off a noisy scramble as tens of billions of ad dollars hang in the balance.
For A+E, the privately held owner of networks like A&E, Lifetime and History, a combination of approaches suits its decisions in recent years to emphasize reach to viewers aged 50 and over and also guarantee outcomes to ad buyers.During the upfront presentation, the company announced it is offering new content categories organized by genre.
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