CRE Looking to Study Effects of Mobile Video on Traditional TV

Advertisers, media buyers and media companies
want to get a better handle on how mobile video is affecting traditional video
delivery.

The
Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence (CRE) Friday issued a
request for proposal (RFP)

to study the impact of tablets, smartphones and laptops on overall TV viewing.

CRE is also trying to improve measurement of video
on mobile devices, which are increasingly used as video players in addition to
serving as phones, texters, E-mail checkers and Web browsers.

Among
the answers key questions CRE is trying to answer is
whether mobile viewing is a value added or a substitute for traditional TV, and
how, and how often, video is accessed.

The
goal is to quantify reach and frequency of mobile media consumption, when and
where it is used and with whom -- alone or socially -- and see how the study
squares with current mobile media measurement.

No
budget has been set for the study, according to CRE's RFP, but proposals
are due May 1, and the contract is expected to be awarded by July.

CRE said it will issue a public report on the study
findings.

CRE was formed in 2005 as a methodological research
think tank for Nielsen clients (and others), including broadcast and cable
networks, stations, operators, advertisers and programmers.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.