Nielsen Invests in New TV Ratings Platform After Selling $2.4 Billion Unit – Nielsen plans to increase its capital expenditures to improve the way it measures TV audiences. A large chunk of that money is budgeted for Nielsen One, a new product that will combine ratings from both streaming and live TV when it debuts next year.
Nielsen, a leading media measurement firm, in December unveiled plans for the project, which it hopes will become the U.S. standard for ratings by the fall of 2024, and eventually for the world. Other companies that measure TV viewership include Reston, Va.-based Comscore.
Streaming services have surged in popularity during the pandemic, while traditional pay-TV providers have continued to lose subscribers. Current metrics for traditional TV viewing aren’t comparable to those used to measure streaming, rendering a new system necessary, said Surinder Thind, senior vice president of equity research at Jefferies LLC, a financial-services firm. [WSJ]
TikTok Radio is a new full-time SiriusXM music channel, all part of a new collaboration between TikTok and SiriusXM/Pandora – In addition, Pandora is launching a series of playlists hosted by top TikTok creators including Bella Poarch, Christian Shelton and Nick Tangorra.
This summer, SiriusXM will launch TikTok Radio, a full-time music channel featuring the trending sounds that are redefining pop culture from TikTok. TikTok Radio will be presented by TikTok creators, tastemakers, and DJs. TikTok Radio will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
The new Supergirl, Sasha Calle, approves of fan rendering of how she could look in the new Flash movie, set to release November 4, 2022.
Singer Richard Marx was trending this afternoon as Senator Rand Paul’s wife tweeted that the artist “was inciting more violence”. The FBI yesterday had launched an investigation into suspicious package sent to the Senator with a threatening letter.
Amazon’s ad revenue is now twice as big as Snap, Twitter, Roku and Pinterest combined – The major growth in Amazon’s advertising unit means its revenue contribution is now 2.4 times larger than Snap, Twitter, Roku and Pinterest combined, and it’s growing 1.7 times as quickly, according to Loop Capital.
Amazon’s “Other” unit, which is primarily made up of advertising but also includes sales related to other service offerings, grew revenue a whopping 77% year-over-year to more than $6.9 billion in the first quarter, the company reported last month. And industry moves like Apple’s recent software changes that make it easier for user to block advertisers from tracking them, look poised to add more fuel to Amazon’s growth. [CNBC]
For the first time since the Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index began, the number of Americans reporting socially distancing in the past week is below 50 percent, according to the latest poll. At the same time, fewer are also wearing masks at all times when leaving the house – a decline mostly happening among vaccinated Americans, in the wake of the CDC’s newest guidance – and more are dining out and seeing friends or family outside of the household. Though Americans are shifting their calculation of relative risk around certain activities, this week’s poll also shows that few trust strangers – such as those at an airport or an outdoor sporting event – to be honest about their COVID-19 vaccine status. [Ipsos]
iHeartMedia and FOX announced today that Brandi Carlile, Demi Lovato and H.E.R. will perform during a special tribute honoring Elton John with the iHeartRadio Icon Award at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards. The award will be presented by Chris Martin and Lil Nas X and will honor Elton John’s global impact on pop culture, longevity, and continued relevance as a touring and radio force with a loyal fan base worldwide. Usher will host and perform during the event, which will also feature previously announced performances from The Weeknd with special guest Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak (Silk Sonic), Dan + Shay and Doja Cat.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said his company is planning “one of the most significant updates of Windows of the past decade,” its software that powers more than 1.3 billion people’s devices. Although he didn’t offer details, Nadella said Microsoft plans to unveil the new version “very soon.”
“I’ve been using it over the past several months and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows,” he said. [CNET]
Shout Factory is re-releasing The Transformers: The Movie for its 35th Anniversary, this time in a 4K remaster in an attractive steelbook casing. [IGN]
