Nielsen Social

Nielsen Social, founded in 2011, operated as a provider of social media analytics with a specific focus on the television industry. The company was acquired by Talkwalker in July 2020. Prior to the acquisition, Nielsen Social was a business unit within Nielsen, a global measurement and data analytics firm established by Arthur C. Nielsen in 1923. Nielsen itself has a long history of evolving to meet the measurement needs of new media, starting with radio in the 1930s and expanding to television in 1950.

The primary business of Nielsen Social was to offer social TV measurement, audience engagement analytics, and advertising effectiveness solutions. Its client base included TV networks, advertising agencies, and advertisers who sought to understand the impact of social media conversation on television programming. The business model was centered on providing subscription-based access to its data and analytics platform, which allowed clients to measure, understand, and act on TV-related social media activity, particularly on Twitter. Revenue was generated through these recurring subscription fees for access to its proprietary datasets and analytics tools.

The core service, known as Social Content Ratings, identified, captured, and analyzed real-time conversations about television programs. This service covered over 260 U.S. television networks, including Spanish-language channels and content from over-the-top (OTT) streaming providers. A key feature was its direct relationship with platforms like Twitter, which enabled the delivery of geographically-bound social TV data. The platform provided standardized metrics across social networks, offering tools to analyze audience engagement, gauge the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and identify key influencers and trending topics related to specific programs. This data was integrated with Gracenote's metadata, which provided the linear TV schedules, signaling when programs aired, to offer a comprehensive view of social engagement around television content.

Keywords: social TV measurement, audience engagement, advertising effectiveness, social media analytics, television analytics, Social Content Ratings, Twitter TV analytics, media measurement, audience insights, program engagement, cross-platform measurement, media analytics, TV advertising, social listening, content ratings, entertainment analytics, Nielsen, Talkwalker, brand analytics, consumer insights