Nielsen, Twitter Join Forces to Launch Social TV Metric

Nielsen will allow clients to see a television show's reach on Twitter

Nielsen teamed up with Twitter to mint a new social television metric to pair with its TV ratings, the companies announced Monday.

ScreenshotThe new data will allow advertisers and programmers to gauge what shows are creating the most chatter on Twitter. It will be available for the fall 2013 TV season.

“The Nielsen Twitter TV Rating is a significant step forward for the industry, particularly as programmers develop increasingly captivating live TV and new second-screen experiences, and advertisers create integrated ad campaigns that combine paid and earned media,” Steve Hasker, Nielsen's president of global media products and advertiser solutions, said in a statement. “As a media measurement leader we recognize that Twitter is the preeminent source of real-time television engagement data.”

The new rating will provide another layer of data showing how much programs and, the commercials sold against them, are talked about on the social networks. Networks and programmers will also be able to use the data to evaluate the audience-reach of their shows.

“Our users love the shared experience of watching television while engaging with other viewers and show talent,” Chloe Sladden, Twitter’s vice president of media, said in a statement. “This effort reflects Nielsen's foresight into the evolving nature of the TV viewing experience, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with Twitter ecosystem partners on this metric to help broadcasters and advertisers create truly social TV experiences.”

Nielsen is hedging its bets that Twitter data will enhance its social measurement. Last month, it acquired SocialGuide, which tracks Twitter activity around TV programming.

The real-time data will be boiled down daily to give a top 10 list of the shows based on their Twitter engagement.

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