Inside Allen Media Group’s Partnership with VideoAmp, One of Nielsen’s Many Competitors

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The quest for a new way to measure TV audiences has taken years of tests, dozens of efforts to sample upstart technologies and hours of debates among big media companies, Madison Avenue buying firms and blue-chip advertisers.

At present, no one seems to have devised a perfect solution. So Byron Allen decided to try. In June, the media entrepreneur’s Allen Media Group unveiled a 10-year deal with VideoAmp, one of a handful of new vendors striving to replace Nielsen as the entertainment sector’s go-to choice for audience measurement, as the backer of the audience data it would use to strike deals with advertisers.

Nielsen and the TV networks have been increasingly at loggerheads in the last few years. The measurement giant is striving to build a new system that will consider views via streaming and digital means while the TV sector — one of its biggest clients — charges that the company is moving far too slowly.

Linear ratings are in noticeable decline and the broader industry has yet to hit upon a single agreed-upon measure for tabulating broadband viewership. “A lot of decisions are being made that should not be made based on the measurement not being as strong as VideoAmp, and I think it’s important that we get the scorecard right,” Allen said during a recent interview. “We are all working hard, but we’re not getting credit for what we put up on the board.