BIA/Kelsey Teams With Share Rocket to Provide Local Station Social Data

BIA/Kelsey, a research and consulting company focused on local media, said it formed an alliance with Share Rocket, which tracks social media ratings for the broadcast industry, to examine the social media audiences of local TV stations.

Share Rocket’s station-level social data will be added to BIA/Kelsey’s Media Access Pro software and ADVantage, an advertising dashboard.

“Broadcasters are intent on monetizing the value of their social audiences, especially as consumers turn to multiple channels and devices to consume content,” said Rick Ducey, managing director of BIA/Kelsey. “Our goal in working with Share Rocket is to offer social data to broadcasters that will help them create a social currency around their audiences. We will deliver this information via industry 'how to' papers and within our own software products that industry professionals use daily.”

TV broadcasters could realize some of the $10 billion that will be spent in locally targeted social advertising by 2021 by using their content to develop news packages specifically for social channels, the companies said. Social channels could then reach different audience segments than over-the-air alone.

"As distribution channels evolve, ratings solutions and transactional currencies are the next logical step beyond standard metrics and analytics tools for broadcasters to determine the best next steps for their social channels," said Chris Kraft, CEO, Share Rocket. "Share Rocket delivers the share-based metrics broadcasters need to better understand their social audiences and improve performance both for consumers and advertisers. We are excited to partner with BIA/Kelsey to bring this data directly to broadcasters."

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.