Nielsen to rate television commercials

It may very well revolutionize the television advertising industry. Nielsen Media Research announced on Tuesday that, come November, it plans to measure how many people actually watch TV commercials. Nielsen, as you know, already tracks how many people watch television programs. Both TV networks and advertisers say that they expect the new system to show a significant drop in viewership during commercial breaks. A documented drop in viewership could, potentially, significantly change the amount of advertising dollars that flow in and out of a network.

Industry analysts are already predicting that this new system will result in more in-program advertising and product placement, like in the early days of television. This could also perhaps change what kind of commercials you see, and in what order. If a commercial break starts off with a strong GEICO commercial, does that mean that the rest of the break will retain more viewers? How about movie trailers? Would funny commercials work better than serious ones? We'll start finding out the answers to these questions in November when the new service goes live. (Read the full article)