comScore Uses Home Panel to Measure Connected Devices

comScore said it has launched a new product called Connected Home that measures consumer usage of devices linked to the internet and home networks including computers, mobile phones, tablets, streaming sticks, smart TVs, thermostats and other appliances.

It's comScore’s first syndicated product based on its Total Home Panel, which measures usage of devices within the home. The Total Home Panel will also be a part of comScore cross-platform TV measurement products.

comScore has been in a bit of a funk since last year when it announced an investigation into the way it had accounted for certain non-monetary transactions. Since then senior executives have left, the company has been delisted and it has spent more than $39 million in consultants to try to get its financial records in shape.

comScore last month said that its revenue for 2016 was flat but that cash flow was down because the company continued to invest in new products.

Subscribers to comScore Connected Home will get data on device penetration, usage frequency, engagement time, household demographics, manufacturer and brand market share and cross device activity patterns.

“There are more screens and other connected devices in homes than ever before, yet there have been major gaps in understanding how consumers interact with this technology,” said Dan Hess, executive VP of products at comScore. “Whether our clients seek to understand new dynamics of media consumption such as over-the-top delivery, gaming and other entertainment options, or [Internet of Things] adoption, this new service is a major step forward in enabling removing these blind spots.”

comScore’s Total Home Panel is a national sample of more than 12,500 households with more than 147,000 active devices per month. It is designed to measure cross-platform media consumption and will be used in conjunction with data from millions of set boxes in order to measure television viewing.

(Photo via FamZoo Staff's Flickr. Image taken on May 25, 2016 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 9x16 aspect ratio.)

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.