While Nielsen continues to regain the trust of the George Ivie-led Media Rating Council with respect to accreditation, the iHeartMedia-owned spot data tracking service known as Media Monitors has once again warmed the hearts of the MRC.
Accredited since 2008 by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for its U.S. radio spot data and since 2017 for its domestic TV spot data, Media Monitors has earned the continuation of its accreditation for both radio and TV spot data.
Media Monitors Spot Ten reports are regularly featured in RBR+TVBR, and features data from radio and television stations it tracks solely for commercials.
Media Monitors President/CEO Philippe Generali commented, “The standards MRC holds are core to our company’s values and expectations. Quality data delivered accurately and timely are the cornerstones at Media Monitors. Being awarded MRC accreditation is an incredible accomplishment and shows our commitment as the leader in local media monitoring.”
Ivie, who serves as MRC Executive Director and CEO, added, “We congratulate Media Monitors for continuing to meet the rigorous requirements needed to achieve MRC accreditation. The accredited spot data fills an important role in the radio and television advertising marketplaces, and data users can be confident it meets MRC’s standards.”
While Media Monitors has had no accreditation issue for the last 14 years, the MRC and Nielsen have been in an accreditation tussle for nearly a year. In August 2021, Nielsen “proactively” ignited a MRC accreditation hiatus. This was blasted by the MRC one day later.
By March of this year, the MRC provided an update on the statuses of the Linear and Connected TV measurement services that are currently engaged in the MRC’s accreditation process. The big takeaway: MRC revealed that there were no accredited services heading into the Upfronts.
With respect to the MRC and Nielsen, a complete audit report is not expected to be delivered to MRC until the end of September. Additionally, an audit of Nielsen’s “Big Data” inputs to its future TV measurements is currently in process, with this audit report expected to be delivered to MRC within the next few weeks.
