Nielsen has a new CEO, after five dramatic years in the media measurement arena.
Karthik Rao, previously CEO of Nielsen Audience Measurement, is promoted to the overall role, 23 years after joining the company, taking over from David Kenny.
In this video interview with Beet.TV in February 2023, which we are republishing here, Rao said said the company’s newly-released Nielsen ONE measurement suite would help solve the thorny problem of cross-screen media measurement.
Rao said it aims to solve “four-screen de-duplicated reach and frequency as the table stakes”, as well as quantify outcomes and attention.
The world of media measurement has been in upheaval. Nielsen has been working to address industry concerns thrown up while measuring home TV viewing during COVID-19 lock-downs, while also trying to respond to the industry’s growing demand to effectively measure consumers’ viewing across media devices.
Nielsen was taken private in a private equity buy-out in 2022, and last week said it would lay off about 9% of its workforce. The company said it would delay its measurement of Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football ratings.
Rao told Beet.TV Nielsen ONE has a unique advantage over other cross-media measurement solutions on the market because it leverages Nielsen’s data sources, including its large TV measurement panel, as well as its digital measurement capabilities, to provide a comprehensive view of cross-media reach and frequency.
In a statement, David Kerko, Head of Private Equity at Nielsen co-owner Elliott, said: “Karthik is now the right leader for Nielsen, which is well positioned to evolve with and support the media ecosystem as it undergoes a period of dramatic change.”
