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Nielsen buys Arbitron

Goat Rodeo Cowboy said:
I'm out of touch. In this day and age, who is paying Nielsen.... the stations? the ad agencies? Both?
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Ad agencies pay what amounts to a service charge... a very small amount.

The TV pays Nielsen, Radio pays Arbitron.
 
TheBigA said:
Salty Dog said:
I don't think there is a chance regulators will block it. Do you?
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Probably not. But all that has to happen is Cumulus gets pissed off and sues them. Then the feds wake up.
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But The Cloud has reached a new agreement with Arbitron... they are playing nice with each other.
 
Arbitron is essentially a monopoly in radio ratings already. The exception is Eastlan, but there are only a few small markets that both companies rate Nielsen is already a monopoly in TV ratings.

What changes with the acquisition other than a changeover in intellectual property? My thought is nothing.
 
DavidEduardo said:
But The Cloud has reached a new agreement with Arbitron... they are playing nice with each other.
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That can change on moments notice.

PTBoardOp94 said:
What changes with the acquisition other than a changeover in intellectual property? My thought is nothing.
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So you think they spent all this money to retain status quo? That's not how Nielsen works.
 
TheBigA said:
PTBoardOp94 said:
What changes with the acquisition other than a changeover in intellectual property? My thought is nothing.
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So you think they spent all this money to retain status quo? That's not how Nielsen works.
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... or any company works.

Said Nielsen in its press release: "Cost synergies associated with the acquisition are expected to be at least $20 million and will be largely driven by the integration of technology platforms and data acquisition efforts."If that's what they are saying, imagine what is left unsaid.
 
Salty Dog said:
Said Nielsen in its press release: "Cost synergies associated with the acquisition are expected to be at least $20 million and will be largely driven by the integration of technology platforms and data acquisition efforts."If that's what they are saying, imagine what is left unsaid.
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What is obviously meant by "data acquisition efforts" is that, eventually, they can use one panel to measure TV/Cable, radio and new media. In other words, far less expense in incentives for panelists, panel supervision and recruitment and even in meters themselves.

As to "technology platforms" Nielsen is acquiring all the patents and experience behind the PPM, which can be adapted as the preferred measurement device for cross-platform measurement. In particular, the PPM technology is mobile while the Nielsen TV meter is not... and we are in a period of rapid mobile media usage.
 
DavidEduardo said:
In other words, far less expense in incentives for panelists, panel supervision and recruitment and even in meters themselves.
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And as we know, it's that cost that is responsible for the 60% increase that radio stations have had to pay.

So will the efficiencies result in a lowering of fees to stations? Probably not. That's where the profit comes in.

My point in this thread is that if & when they attempt to INCREASE those fees is when the lawsuits begin.
 
TheBigA said:
And as we know, it's that cost that is responsible for the 60% increase that radio stations have had to pay.

So will the efficiencies result in a lowering of fees to stations? Probably not. That's where the profit comes in.

My point in this thread is that if & when they attempt to INCREASE those fees is when the lawsuits begin.
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My guess is that the "efficiencies" will be far greater than the measly $20 million. Normally, the acquirer says "no changes are planned" and then the axe-swinging begins. Not that I think that mere cost-saving is the motivation, it probably is the PPM and the radio ratings is just a cash generator to help pay for it.

I would not bet on the success of any lawsuit based on rate increases. The battle, if there was to be one, would be before it is approved. More likely they will curl up in the fetal position and cry a lot.
 
Salty Dog said:
I would not bet on the success of any lawsuit based on rate increases. The battle, if there was to be one, would be before it is approved. More likely they will curl up in the fetal position and cry a lot.
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One has to demonstrate that the monopoly is restricting trade. It's easier to prove after the approval than before.
 
TheBigA said:
Salty Dog said:
I would not bet on the success of any lawsuit based on rate increases. The battle, if there was to be one, would be before it is approved.
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One has to demonstrate that the monopoly is restricting trade. It's easier to prove after the approval than before.
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I can't think of a deal unwound, or damages awarded after a merger was approved. The approval process itself would be evidence that the rate increase was not tied to the merger. How long did it take Sirius/XM to raise rates after the merger? It seemed like 5 minutes. There was some grumbling and then... nothing.
 
Salty Dog said:
I can't think of a deal unwound, or damages awarded after a merger was approved. The approval process itself would be evidence that the rate increase was not tied to the merger. How long did it take Sirius/XM to raise rates after the merger? It seemed like 5 minutes. There was some grumbling and then... nothing.
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Sirius was granted a rate increase because it's royalty rates increased. That was covered under the terms of the merger. They're just passing on their costs. That's OK. Nielsen is saying they will SAVE money here. So those savings should be passed along to their customers. If not, their captive customers have recourse.
 
My point from a previous post is that this merger creates no captive customers that did not already exist. Arbitron and Nielsen were already de-facto monopolies in their respective businesses, therefore their merger will not face much government scrutiny.

Anyone who bought Nielsen data has no alternative today, and they will not have an alternative in 2013.
Anyone who bought Arbitron data has no alternative today, and they will not have an alternative in 2013.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Anyone who bought Nielsen data has no alternative today, and they will not have an alternative in 2013.
Anyone who bought Arbitron data has no alternative today, and they will not have an alternative in 2013.
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True enough. Maybe that's why so little was said about any approval problems. It probably sails right by with hardly a glance.
 
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