Let’s see … more than 33 million people using the mobile Web and some
8 million users of mobile video in the last 30 days alone, according to
the Nielsen Company: That’s a mass worth measuring.
The media and metrics company, which actually already provides metrics to
advertisers about mobile media usage, is adding more research to its array
of media and metrics stats.
Called Nielsen Wireless, the service is expected to measure how many
people use content services, such as mobile Internet and mobile video, and
what impact this has on established media behavior.
The company’s wireless division also measures the video gaming for the
wireless industry. The forthcoming Wireless service is expected to dovetail
with Nielsen’s “Anywhere Media Measurement” offering, which measures
television usage on all television and video platforms, including personal
video devices, such as mobile phones.
The first product slated for U.S. launch next month is called Mobile
Vector. Using the “National People Meter” TV sample, the report intends to
round up data that includes how subscribers of different wireless carriers
consume media in the home (such as TV viewing preferences, video gaming
activity and media technology adoption).
Nielsen’s decision to ramp up its existing mobile-media measurement is a
reflection of how hot the mobile arena is, especially with advertisers.
Yahoo, for example, recently launched
Yahoo Mobile Publisher Services in a bid to get more market share with
advertisers. The services include the Mobile Ad Network, Mobile Content
Engine, Mobile Media Directory and Mobile Site Submit.
AOL is on a similar bead. Last month, it announced the acquisition of Third Screen Media, a mobile-advertising network and mobile
ad-serving and management-platform provider.
They all have juicy stats to inform their moves. For example, CTIA (the
international association for the wireless telecommunications industry)
counts more than 230 million wireless subscriptions in the U.S. alone. More
than half of those subscribers are living in households with incomes of $75,000
or above, Nielsen said.
It also noted that the mobile video audience skews older and mostly male.
That would suggest one stat that still holds forth with mobile content:
sports is a big seller with men in the mobile content realm.