Nielsen to Provide Ratings for HBO On Demand Services

NEW YORK, December 12: HBO is to become the first
broadcaster to receive ratings for its on-demand offerings, inking a deal with
The Nielsen Company for measurement of the usage of its SVOD services.

Nielsen will measure usage of HBO On Demand and Cinemax On
Demand via its National People Meter VOD Audience Measurement service,
providing data on the number of households viewing the titles as well as the
demographics of the audiences viewing each specific program.

"Technology has changed the way people watch television
and as our customers increasingly use our On Demand products to watch our shows
on a timetable of their choosing, it is essential that we understand this
growing shift in viewer behavior," said Jan Pasquale, the senior VP of
research at HBO. "The knowledge gained from this service will enable us to
drive additional consumer satisfaction by understanding the appeal of our
programming to specific audiences and developing targeted offerings for the
full range of our customer base."

Sara Erichson, the executive VP of client services at Nielsen
North America, added: "Clients told us that VOD is a vital part of their
business and Nielsen responded with a service that allows them to measure,
analyze and understand audience preferences. We recognize that it is essential
to measure media consumption wherever and whenever it occurs, regardless of
platform, and our VOD solution provides a way to measure the growing audience
for on demand viewing. HBO was instrumental in the development of this service,
working with Nielsen engineering and product development to fine-tune the
reports and metrics. We're delighted that they are the first client to use this
service."

Nielsen estimates that 35.1 million households in the U.S.
have access to on-demand services.

—By Mansha Daswani