Nielsen and comScore Battle it out over Internet Numbers

Ratings are an endlessly fascinating study. They're the currency of the TV business and yet there is only one company producing the data. Sounds suspect indeed. There are pros and cons to this approach. The cons are obvious -- the ratings figures could be distorted for a variety of reasons (small sample size, inaccurate recording of data, etc.). The benefit is there's only one number and since the numbers are all determined the same way, everyone is happy.

We can see what would happen if Nielsen had major competitors in the TV industry. Nielsen and comScore are battling it out in online measurement. Everyone knows something is amiss because the two companies have different numbers for the same sites. You would think online would be easier to track, but in actuality, the wealth of information makes it more difficult. My favorite part of the story is when folks in the industry say they don't rely on the figures, rather they focus on the performance of their specific campaigns. Seriously? Trust me, these numbers are the holy grail. Just like they are with TV.

Apropos of this topic is the fact that about 30 times in the past 6 weeks, we have seen it reported that China has tied or passed the U.S. for total Internet users. Where did the data come from? Nielsen. What's the ginormous flaw? Well, this data only tracks home and business use and even the story itself notes that "one-third of Chinese Internet users surf through Cybercafes." In what other industry can you base a story around figures that are so completely flawed? Mentioning it in the fourth paragraph doesn't mean you should use the numbers.

Just one example and then we're good. Did you know that Alex Rodriguez is hitting .353 this season? You didn't? Oh, that could be because he's hitting .353 at Yankee Stadium and we don't record his at-bats on the road. Ridiculous.