Univision, Telemundo Join Nielsen Television Index
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 9, 2006
Ray Rodriguez, president and chief operating officer, Univision Communications
Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE:UVN), a leading Spanish-language media company, and Nielsen Media Research recently announced that they have reached an agreement under which Univision will join Nielsen’s national TV ratings service, the Nielsen Television Index (NTI). Telemundo Communications Group, Inc., another major Spanish language media company, and Nielsen Media Research made a similar announcement shortly after the Univision announcement. Telemundo and Nielsen have entered an agreement to include Telemundo in Nielsen’s National Television Index (NTI). Prior to this announcement, the Telemundo network only subscribed to Nielsen’s National Hispanic Television Index (NHTI), which measures only Hispanic audiences.
Univision was the first Spanish-language television network and Telemundo the second to be included in this service, which provides television ratings for all the major U.S. Networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. Previously, the Univision Network solely subscribed to Nielsen’s National Hispanic Television Index (NHTI), which measures only Hispanic audiences. Univision will also continue to subscribe to NHTI.
“This is a historic step for Univision, which firmly plants us among the mainstream broadcasters,” said Ray Rodriguez, president and chief operating officer, Univision Communications. “Univision will finally be measured alongside its main competitors, the major English-language broadcast networks, and for the first time, advertisers and media buyers will be able to see the audience Univision delivers in the national charts. We’re confident that this move will validate Univision’s ability to successfully compete against any network in the country and provide us with a powerful tool to attract marketers that had previously been reluctant to advertise in Spanish.”
As part of the agreement, Univision will maintain its subscription to NHTI until September 2007, when the National People Meter (NPM) sample, upon which NTI is based, will become the sole sample for both English-language and Spanish-language media. The NPM sample, comprised of approximately 10,000 households, is subscribed to by broadcast networks, cable networks, syndicators, advertisers and agencies nationwide.
“We are delighted to welcome Univision as the first Spanish-language NTI network,” said Sara Erichson, senior vice president and general manager of Nielsen’s national services. “As we move toward one comprehensive ratings system, we will continue to work with all of our clients to ensure that the NPM sample appropriately represents the growing U.S. Hispanic population. In the meantime, NHTI is still the largest, most representative national sample of Hispanic audiences currently available.”
“Univision’s audience will now take its rightful place, measured alongside its peer networks’ audiences,” said Ceril Shagrin, senior vice president of Corporate Research, Univision Communications. “We are pleased with the progress Nielsen has made to date and will continue to work with them to further refine the NPM sample. We are confident that with the initiatives Nielsen has in place, the NPM sample of Hispanic audiences will have as representative a sample as NHTI by September 2007 or earlier.”
Univision Communications Inc. is a premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, one of the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 98 percent of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 86 percent of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavisión, one of the country’s leading Spanish-language cable networks; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, a leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 67 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and four stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group, which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, and a 50 percent interest in Mexico-based Disa Records labels as well as Fonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and Univision Online, a premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. Univision Communications also has a 50 percent interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa’s pay television channels in the U.S., and a non-voting 27 percent interest in Entravision Communications Corporation, a public Spanish-language media company. Univision Communications is headquartered in Los Angeles with television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information on Univision, visit www.univision.net and for more information for Univision Online, visit www.Univision.com
Don Browne, president, Telemundo
"This agreement is a great step forward. The inclusion of Telemundo in NTI is a sign of the maturation of Spanish language television and a clear recognition of a robust, healthy and growing market. From now on, as marketers target their audiences, they will now have a vehicle that will transparently evaluate audience delivery in Spanish side by side with English language networks," said Don Browne, president, Telemundo. "From a consumer perspective, it’s a great day for the Hispanic consumer, as this agreement acknowledges the power of this audience by providing a more sophisticated tool to track their viewership."
"We are delighted to have Telemundo join our roster of NTI networks." said Sara Erichson. "This is an important moment for Spanish language media and we look forward to working with them."
Telemundo will maintain its current subscription to NHTI until September 2007, when the National People Meter (NPM) sample, upon which NTI is based, will become the sole sample for both English-language and Spanish-language media. The NPM sample, comprised of approximately 10,000 households, is subscribed to by broadcast networks, cable networks, syndicators, advertisers and agencies across the country.
Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network, is an essential entertainment, news and sports source for Hispanics. Broadcasting unique national and local programming for the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, Telemundo reaches 93 percent of U.S. Hispanic households in 142 markets through its 16 owned-and-operated stations, 36 broadcast affiliates and nearly 684 cable affiliates. Telemundo is wholly owned by NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies.
Nielsen Media Research is a leading provider of television audience measurement and related services, worldwide. In the United States, Nielsen’s National People Meter service provides audience estimates for all national program sources, including broadcast networks, cable networks, Spanish language networks, and national syndicators. Local ratings estimates are produced for television stations, regional cable networks, MSOs, cable interconnects, and Spanish language stations in each of the 210 television markets in the U.S., including People Meter service in seven local markets (10 markets by 2006) and electronic set-metered service in 51 markets.
Nielsen Media Research, outside the U.S. and through international partnerships, operates TV ratings panels in 45 markets. Nielsen Media Research also offers radio audience measurement, print readership, direct mail measurement and customized media research services outside the U.S. In addition, Nielsen Media Research provides competitive advertising intelligence information in the U.S. and in 29 markets worldwide. Through a network of affiliates, advertising intelligence coverage is extended to more than 70 countries, representing 85 percent of the world’s advertising spending. For more information, visit: www.nielsenmedia.com . Nielsen Media Research is a unit of VNU, a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information, media measurement and information and business information VNU is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Harlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. The company employs 38,000 people. Total revenues under IFRS amounted to EUR 3.3 billion in 2004. VNU is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam (ASE: VNU) stock exchange.
