Nielsen Media Research in the U.S. recently announced that, beginning this November, it will report national commercial minute ratings in addition to the program ratings they currently provide. This announcement and subsequent stories in the American media have caused confusion in the Canadian industry, and left some people wondering when a commercial minute audience service will be offered in Canada.
Actually, Canada is way ahead of our southern neighbour when it comes to commercial ratings. Nielsen Media Research launched the service in Canada back in 2000 through its SpotWatch product. A screen capture from the Executive Summary report of SpotWatch shown here features Total Program Rating and AA (average audience), Exclusive Program Ratings and AA (just the program, without the commercial spots), and Exclusive Commercial Ratings and AA (just the commercial spots, without the program.
