Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (Nielsen BDS), the leading supplier of airplay recognition technology, has entered into a license agreement with Philips, a world leader in electronics and digital signal processing technologies, whereby Philips’ Audio Identification Technology will be integrated into the Nielsen BDS proprietary airplay recognition system. The agreement, announced today by Rob Sisco, President of Nielsen Music and COO of Nielsen Entertainment East Coast Operations, will enable Nielsen BDS, the global leader in airplay monitoring, to continue to provide the most powerful and efficient airplay information system available.
Through the combined airplay monitoring technical experience of Nielsen BDS and the engineering resources of Philips Research, Nielsen BDS will offer clients a variety of newly enhanced audio identification and delivery services including:
· Greater ability to monitor millions of unique works;
· Rapid airplay identification, monitored to the second;
· Capability to immediately monitor newly released works;
· Significant expansion of monitored station and market information;
· Increased monitoring of niche markets and audio streams;
· Highly accurate and expedient data delivery
The integration of Nielsen BDS with Philips’ Audio Identification Technology includes Philips Audio Fingerprinting and Audio Classification technologies, a proprietary development of Philips Research, the Netherlands. Audio Fingerprinting is a technology to extract unique musical features of audio content. Audio Classification is a technology to automatically determine if sample audio content is either music or not, and potentially also to determine what musical genre it belongs to. The combination of the technologies is unique, and the performance of each is state-of-the-art.
“Utilizing the Philips Research software enables Nielsen BDS to operate the most comprehensive and immediate airplay detection and delivery information system available,” said Mr. Sisco. “The Philips’ technology will support and further the Nielsen BDS mandate and strategy of supplying superior airplay data to our clients.”
“It is great to be selected as the new technology vendor for Nielsen BDS, a monitoring specialist for over 15 years now,” says Erik de Ruijter, General Manager of the Content Identification Business Unit of Philips Research, the Netherlands. “They understand the matter extremely well, and we were selected because we have clearly superior technologies. Philips Audio Fingerprinting uniquely allows for near-real-time reporting, and the built-in Philips Audio Classification technology allows for unprecedented efficiencies.”
Nielsen BDS has provided the music and advertising industries with highly comprehensive and up to date information on all forms of broadcasts since 1989, solidly delivering and enhancing key services to clients. This information is provided by monitoring a broad range of media, markets and formats covering 19 countries; fully comprehensive information on identification of nearly 100% of fingerprinted airplay on monitored stations; monitoring of Internet, satellite, and cable as well as terrestrial radio and television broadcasts; reporting of airplay recognition within minutes of the broadcast; fully functional web-based client delivery systems; and aligning airplay data with sales, listener and show line-up information to give clients the broadest possible range of actionable information available.
At Nielsen Entertainment, we believe that entertainment drives culture and culture drives consumption, making our comprehensive brand of entertainment intelligence - in film, television, music, book and interactive verticals - key to any consumer-focused business. We serve as strategic partner to top entertainment brands throughout the world and are comprised of the following Nielsen businesses: NRG, EDI, Entertainment Marketing Solutions (EMS), SoundScan, Broadcast Data Systems, Aircheck, Music Control, VideoScan, BookScan, BookData, Interactive Entertainment, ReelResearch and Nielsen Entertainment Solutions. Together, we provide industry insight and consulting services based on our own primary and custom research, strategic analysis, testing, tracking, retail sales measurement, and a broad array of both traditional and emerging technology tools which cater to entertainment creators, developers, marketers, distributors and observers. Nielsen Entertainment is a global leader in information services for the media and entertainment industries.
Nielsen Media Measurement & Information Group is the global leader in information services for the media and entertainment industries. The Group serves the information and marketing needs of television and radio broadcasters, advertisers, agencies, media planners, music companies, publishers, motion-picture studios, distributors and exhibitors, and the Internet industry. Nielsen is active in more than 100 countries, spread across all continents. Nielsen employs more than 38,000 people and has annual revenues of more than EUR 4.3 billion.
