• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

3

Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45

1

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer

2

Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back

3

Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
Arts & Entertainment

Why Nielsen Wants to Know What TV Shows You Watch at the Gym

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 24, 2016, 6:35 PM ET
112299675
Photograph by Jeffrey Coolidge—Getty Images

Nielsen has often been criticized for its slow uptake of modern methods used to track television audiences, who no longer have to be sitting on their couch to catch up on their favorite TV shows. As a result, some TV executives and analysts consider the audience measurement service to be “outdated” or even “inaccurate.”

But, the audience measurement service has been trying to play catch up, building out what it calls its “total audience measurement” tool. This includes the recent launch of its digital content ratings metric that measures how many people consume a range of content—video, audio, and text—on desktop and mobile devices. Nielsen’s ratings system has always been critical to the TV industry, which depends on viewership statistics for its primary revenue stream: selling advertising. Now that modern television viewers’ habits have evolved, the research firm needs to adapt quickly to properly serve its TV industry clients.

Now, Nielsen is trying to add another small piece to the puzzle by tracking what consumers are watching on television even when they’re not at home.

 

The company said on Monday that it is launching a new out-of-home ratings service that will help national TV clients track the number of people watching something like a sporting event or a presidential debate anywhere from a bar or restaurant to a hotel, or even while working out at a gym. The announcement marks a big step for Nielsen as the company tries to present its clients with a well-rounded picture of how many people are watching a particular program, no matter where or how they’re watching.

Nielsen said the service, which will launch in April 2017 with data going back to January 2017, would use what the company calls portable people meters (PPMs) to track out-of-home viewing statistics. Nielsen’s PPMs are small, pager-like devices worn by participating consumers that can pick up on audio to track what, when, and where the person wearing is watching on TV. The company said last month that it now has more than 75,000 panelists using the PPM devices across 44 local TV markets in the U.S.

Two corporate clients that have already signed on with Nielsen are Disney’s ESPN and Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting. ESPN said earlier this year that it was working with Nielsen to get an idea of how many people were watching the network’s live sporting events at bars, restaurants, gyms and other public spaces. The out-of-home ratings would conceivably increase the number of total viewers it tracks for sports programming on ESPN and other networks.

This particular effort comes at a time when ratings for live sporting events are taking a hit, with the Summer Olympics scoring below expectations this year and even the typically massively-popular NFL suffering a dip in ratings in recent months. Meanwhile, ESPN has seen its subscriber base drop by nearly 10 million people since 2013, as more and more people cut the cord on their cable packages.

In a statement on Monday, ESPN’s senior vice president of global research and analytics, Artie Bulgrin, called Nielsen’s new out-of-home measurement “a significant leap forward.”

“As a leading media company with a diverse portfolio of brands, Turner recognizes that today’s audience measurement requires constant innovation to capture the full scope of audience behavior,” Howard Shimmel, Turner’s chief research officer, said in his own statement. “For brands like CNN and Turner Sports, with huge and valuable out-of-home audiences, we need to be able to measure consumption regardless of the platform, screen or location.”

For instance, Nielsen reported last month that a record 84 million people watched the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, including nearly 10 million who watched on CNN. But, those numbers did not include anyone who watched the historic event in large groups at a bar or other public places.

Out-of-home viewing is yet another step, along with better tracking of consumers’ digital and mobile viewing habits, toward Nielsen’s goal of providing its clients with the most modern, well-rounded viewership data possible. Nielsen plans to complete the full rollout of its total audience measurement tool by March of 2016.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Shaun White, wearing a jacket with a fur-lined hood, looks up.
SuccessBrainstorm Tech
Olympic champion Shaun White says AI is ‘leveling the playing field’ for professional athletes
By Sasha RogelbergJune 11, 2026
15 hours ago
brazil
Arts & EntertainmentWorld Cup
Brazil’s biggest soccer broadcaster Is now a guy who started on Twitch. He beat Globo
By Nick Lichtenberg, Tales Azzoni and The Associated PressJune 11, 2026
16 hours ago
The curse of Trump watching sports in person: the home team seems to always lose
Arts & EntertainmentDonald Trump
The curse of Trump watching sports in person: the home team seems to always lose
By The Associated Press and Will WeissertJune 10, 2026
1 day ago
Meryl Streep says she was ‘ready to retire’ when the call for ‘Devil Wears Prada’ came—so she demanded they double her salary or nothing
SuccessThe Promotion Playbook
Meryl Streep says she was ‘ready to retire’ when the call for ‘Devil Wears Prada’ came—so she demanded they double her salary or nothing
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 10, 2026
2 days ago
knicks
SuccessNew York
‘Knicks in 6. 2026 NBA Finals’: Why did this New Yorker make a prophecy in his 2020 high school yearbook?
By Philip Marcelo and The Associated PressJune 10, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Laing thinks tomorrow’s Fortune 500 will be built by creators. He might be right 
C-Suitecreator economy
Jamie Laing thinks tomorrow’s Fortune 500 will be built by creators. He might be right 
By Sam BirchallJune 10, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
Energy
Analysts expected oil to surge above $200 but China has quietly kept prices half of that—and can’t for much longer
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
1 day ago
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
Environment
Corporate America has been draining the world's water. Matt Damon's new campaign calls on Gap, Starbucks, and Amazon to help give it back
By Catherina GioinoJune 9, 2026
3 days ago
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
Innovation
Marc Lore’s robots make 500 burrito bowls an hour. A human can make 45
By Amanda GerutJune 9, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 11, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 11, 2026
17 hours ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
4 days ago
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.