The mood across the TV advertising business is that changes must take place; the system must change in connection with the marketplace. The problem is that several things are being debated as to what should be included in the changes.
The three major players in the field are the major broadcast networks, cable networks and Madison Avenue (the ad agencies). Each one has certain issues they want to have addressed before they commit to the potential changes being thrown around as necessary to go forward.
What's interesting about all of this is that it is being treated more like a political process than a commercial one. It is being treated more like the "hanging chad" of the 2000 Americal political vote count, than it is a business. There are lobbyists from each of the interests trying to get their view across to Nielsen Media Research in order to get what they want implemented into the process.
One of those key areas is whether to include VCR audiences as part of the process, as they have been included in the past without truly being measured as there is no way at this time to track it. Obviously the broadcasters want this included as it would inflate their numbers and increase advertising revenue without really knowing in any way if the numbers are accurate. On the other hand the advertisers don't want this included anymore as part of the process.
With all of that there is another issue being thrown into the mix by the cable lobby and that is they want the new ratings to be checked out by the industry's Media Rating Council and officially accredited as to the results.
This is a crucial issue for the industry because the determination of the metrics or statistics has become the currency of the industry. Money is simply applied based upon the currency or data supplied. With $60 billion riding on the outcome, there is a lot at stake to make sure it's done as accurately as possible.
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