By the Nielsen companyB次元官网网址檚 count, 7.8 million people watched Amazon PrimeB次元官网网址檚 coverage of last ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 NFL game between New Orleans and Arizona. But Amazon says no, there were actually 8.9 million people watching.
So which is it?
YouB次元官网网址檒l have to judge for yourself. After each of its Thursday night games this season, Amazon has publicly contradicted Nielsen in this manner, one of the boldest challenges ever to a company that for generations has monopolized the count of people watching programs on television.
Neither company is saying the other is wrong, but neither is backing down, either. The result is confusion, most notably for advertisers.
Nielsen, as it has for years, follows the viewing habits in a panel of homes across the country and, from that limited sample, derives an estimate of how many people watch a particular program. That number is currency in the media industry, meaning it is used to determine advertising rates.
Amazon, in the first year of an 11-year contract to stream Thursday night games, says it has an actual count of every one of its subscribers who streams it B次元官网网址� not an estimate. The games are also televised in the local markets of the participating teams, about 9% of its total viewership each week, and Amazon uses NielsenB次元官网网址檚 estimate for that portion of the total.
B次元官网网址淲e wouldnB次元官网网址檛 put out our number if we werenB次元官网网址檛 comfortable that it was accurate,B次元官网网址� said Jay Marine, vice president of Amazon Prime B次元官网网址 and head of its sports department.
Through six weeks, Nielsen says the Thursday night games have averaged 10.3 million viewers. Amazon says the average is 12.1 million. AmazonB次元官网网址檚 estimate has been bigger than NielsenB次元官网网址檚 each week.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 at all believe that AmazonB次元官网网址檚 numbers are not right,B次元官网网址� said Connie Kim, Nielsen spokeswoman. B次元官网网址淎nd I donB次元官网网址檛 believe that our numbers are not right.B次元官网网址�
Since different methodologies are being used, itB次元官网网址檚 no surprise that there are differences in the estimate, she said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to take a little time,B次元官网网址� Kim said. B次元官网网址淎s it evolves it should be one number. But weB次元官网网址檙e not quite there yet.B次元官网网址�
For now, ad prices for the Thursday games are set using NielsenB次元官网网址檚 numbers. But Amazon clearly has an incentive to let clients know that it believes more people are actually watching.
B次元官网网址淵ou have to remember that this is new B次元官网网址� new for Nielsen and itB次元官网网址檚 the first time thereB次元官网网址檚 been actual data for an event like this,B次元官网网址� Marine said.
The dispute has clear implications for the future. Streamers havenB次元官网网址檛 had much incentive for measurements of daily viewing to be publicized, in part because people donB次元官网网址檛 watch their shows the same way as broadcast television, and they havenB次元官网网址檛 needed numbers verified from a third-party source for advertisers.
But with Netflix about to introduce advertising, that can all change very rapidly. And if other companies develop technology that can measure viewing more precisely, the precedent has now been set for publicly disputing NielsenB次元官网网址檚 numbers.
B次元官网网址擠avid Bauder, The Associated Press
