USA Single-Source Multiscreen Video Panels Are Feasible

Two separate studies by comScore and Arbitron -- both commissioned by the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement -- demonstrate that building single-source, cross-platform panels to measure video audiences across at least three devices is feasible but that they face challenges in reaching scale, according to CIMM.

CIMM was founded in 2009 by TV content providers, ad agencies and advertisers to foster new forms of cross-platform media measurement and audience measurement using set-top-box data. The coalition's backers have expressed frustration with the pace of innovation by Nielsen, the current industry standard for TV viewing measurement data.

"The methodologies currently available to track and measure audiences across multiple screens are, at best, incomplete and haven't nearly kept pace with the rapid proliferation of cross platform content consumption," CIMM managing director Jane Clarke said in a statement.

According to Arbitron's study, 91.7% of TV viewers are using PCs and mobile devices as second and third screens to access video content and 35.5% use all three screens. The research firm recruited a panel of about 500 Arbitron Portable People Meter participants 18 and older who viewed broadcast and cable TV outlets operated by CIMM participants, content from CIMM member websites and apps, and video on Hulu, Netflix and YouTube.

"The cross-platform pilot that we conducted for CIMM clearly demonstrates the value of personal, passive and portable measurement within a single panel of media consumers," Gregg Lindner, Arbitron's executive vice president of service innovation and chief research officer, said in a statement.

The comScore report is available free to download at www.comscore.com/comScoreCIMM. Arbitron said its CIMM-commissioned report will be available on its website Wednesday.