KTSF-TV Launches Nielsen-Measured Mobile TV App

NEW YORK and NEW YORK—KTSF-TV has launched Nielsen’s local TV App in the Apple App Store, and implemented Nielsen proprietary mobile measurement software.

KTSF is a full-power indie serving the Asian American population of the Bay Area. As one of the largest Asian broadcasters in the U.S., Nielsen said KTSF’s viewers have demonstrated mobile device adoption and digital viewing above the national average. According to Nielsen’s Cross-Platform report, Asians currently watch 19 percent more video on smartphones per month than the average. Viewers will have access to both live and on-demand television programming in the San Francisco Bay area.

Nielsen’s mobile measurement software provides information on demographics; which ad campaigns or program episodes were watched; and the difference in viewing behavior of live programming and On Demand. Supplemental mobile viewing will contribute to existing television audience estimates with mobile viewers allowing KTSF to identify additional viewing that it is not currently receiving credit for today.

The KTSF App is powered by Syncbak, which successfully integrated Nielsen’s proprietary Software Development Kit in April 2014. The Nielsen SDK allows clients in local markets, who are encoding their content with Nielsen Watermarks, to measure audiences across mobile platforms and, later this year, include that viewing in their television ratings when streaming the same program and same advertising as the live television feed.

Measurement of the KTSF App on the Android platform will soon follow.

“KTSF has perfect market positioning to leverage the App in order to move forward with incorporating any additive viewership into our traditional ratings. The San Francisco Bay area is not only one of the highest ranked DMAs for Asian Americans, but also among the top iPad, tablet and smartphone penetration and that penetration is growing at a brisk pace. We think Nielsen’s SDK, allowing us to be at the cutting edge of audience measurement, will help paint a clearer picture of our overall audience to advertisers,” said Michael Sherman, general manager of KTSF.

 Farshad Family, senior vice president of Local Product Leadership at Nielsen, said, “Through this proprietary software, Nielsen is able to measure a non-English speaking segment of the U.S. and take further steps towards capturing insights about all segments of viewing population. We are excited to help KTSF take the next step in an effort to innovate and monetize mobile local viewers alongside their existing television audience.”