Media execs lament lack of Nielsen ratings for online video

Media bosses want Nielsen to measure their online audiences sooner rather than later: That was the thrust of a round-up of recent media executive comments made to investors from Bloomberg.

Media executives have been saying for years that one of the hurdles to putting more programming live online has been the inability to measure it the same way the rest of its live audience is measured. Nielsen told Bloomberg it is aware of the pressure media companies face and has begun to measure some viewers who watch video on tablets, laptops and other Internet-connected devices.

The issue has been brought into relief this week as the major TV networks present their fall TV lineups to marketers in New York. Traditional TV ratings are down compared to last year, and some in the industry think those ratings don't reflect the actual size of the audience when online video is factored in.