Nielsen Merges TV, Online Data for New Database

NEW YORK, November 2: Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings
have launched the National TV/Internet Fusion database, merging data from
television and Internet viewer panels into a single dataset.

The service allows television programmers and advertisers to
assess the relationship between television and Internet use. It combines
Nielsen's National People Meter sample of more than 30,000 respondents with
NetRatings' NetView sample, which electronically tracks Internet use of
approximately 29,000 panelists from homes and businesses. The fused database
uses panelist information, including age, sex, household income, household
education and region of country, to link the two databases, providing a
comprehensive picture of consumers' TV and online activities.

The National TV/Internet Fusion database serves as a
springboard toward the development of a single-sample Internet/television
panel. In November, Nielsen Media
Research will begin a test to identify the potential impact of Internet
measurement on television panel-quality metrics, installing software meters on
the laptops and personal computers of test homes installed with Nielsen People
Meters. The company plans to fully deploy the meters during the 2007-2008
television season.

"At a time when the importance of the Internet as an
advertising vehicle continues to grow and expand with new streaming offerings,
it's particularly important to understand the interaction between these two
media," said Paul Donato, the chief research officer at Nielsen Media
Research. "The National TV/Internet Fusion database is an advanced
multi-platform measurement service that offers advertisers, agencies and media
companies an unparalleled view of this expanding relationship; and it
represents a critical element in Nielsen's commitment to measure television
wherever and however it is viewed."