Fox wants to hurt Nielson TV ratings company

[wakeme2008]

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/13/Business/Nielsen_rates_Senate_.shtml

Nielsen rates Senate as tough challenge

Congress considers a bill to accredit ratings systems. The company says that could thwart innovation.

By JEFF HARRINGTON, Times Staff Writer
Published July 13, 2005

Over the decades, TV ratings kingpin Nielsen Media has battled to stay relevant with the emergence of everything from cable to TiVo.

Now comes a threat so big, the company says, its very survival is at stake - including the fate of its 4,000 employees in the Tampa Bay area.

The threat? Congress.

Nielsen Media lobbies to have its ratings methods accredited by an industry-run group called the Media Ratings Council. A signoff by the council, however, is not required before Nielsen markets its ratings products.

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Springer ( Scott Springer, general manager of Nielsen Media's sprawling Oldsmar complex) singles out Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which owns the Fox network, as the primary backer of the Burns/Martinez bill. "It is against us rolling out services that may not be in their best short-term interest," he said.

..more at link..

Mmmmmmm what you are not getting the market share you want Fox... And market share translates into what you can charge for ADS...... Mmmm...