M+E Connections

Growth at Gracenote provided Nielsen a boost in its fourth quarter and fiscal year (ended Dec. 31), the company said Feb. 27.

“In 2019, we saw mid-single-digit growth in Gracenote, our metadata and discovery platform,” Nielsen CFO Linda Zukauckas said on an earnings call.

Of the $1.7 billion in total revenue that the company reported for Q4 (2% growth from a year ago), $889 million (2.3% growth) came from its Nielsen Global Media division that includes Gracenote, it reported.

Within Global Media, Plan/Optimize revenue increased 6%, “driven in part by growth at Gracenote and outcome-based solutions and less pressure in Telecom than in prior quarters in 2019,” the company said.

Of the $6.5 billion in total revenue that the company reported for the year, $3.4 billion came from Global Media (1.9% growth). Within Global Media, Plan/Optimize revenue increased 0.4%, “driven in part by growth at Gracenote and outcome-based solutions, partly offset by pressure in Telecom,” it said.

During the earnings call’s Q&A, Nielsen executives were asked to provide an update on what’s expected to change in the next couple of years when it comes to its various data assets across the company.

In response, CEO David Kenny told analysts: “In audience measurement, we’re already to a point that we have a lot of big data, which is then being corrected and improved by the panel. So this is not a panel-only answer anymore. The data science has really evolved here. And I think the partnerships we have with set-top box data, some of the things we’re learning in the addressable [part], all give it new data sets to help improve that. I would say, on the content side, Gracenote’s are really important. But it is the reference data for content and that certainly helps with discovery. But, as we’ve improved our ability to measure streaming content and know what people are actually watching, the Gracenote data has been important to add into that. And I would say we are increasingly working with our partners who license the Gracenote data to also make sure we have data back that helps us improve content measurement, which helps both the buyers and sellers of content expand that.”

In 2020, Nielsen’s “top priority is to execute on our strategic growth plans” for the Nielsen Global Media and Nielsen Global Connect business segments, according to Kenny. In Media, the company is “investing in our digital transformation and global adoption” of its trademarked One Media Truth positioning for what Nielsen sees as its unbiased metrics that “we expect will result in faster growth over time,” he said.

The company is also “making good progress” on its planned separation of Global Media and Global Connect, which he noted is “targeted for completion within 12 months from the initial announcement in November 2019.”

He added: “We believe that each business is well-positioned for success as a standalone company and remain confident that this separation is the best path forward to enhance strategic focus, growth and long-term shareholder value.”