The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Keach Hagey noted Nielsen has "struck a multiyear deal with Dish Network" to use its set-top-box data to "strengthen its methodology for measuring television viewing in both local and national markets." The deal is Nielsen's "first for a pay-TV provider's set-top-box data with the intent of using it in ratings." The expansion comes "six months after comScore merged with set-up-box-powered Rentrak in a deal aimed at eroding Nielsen's dominance over TV audience measurement." The deal is a "major breakthrough for Nielsen, which has been trying for years to get pay-TV providers to license their set-top-box data" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/5).
BLACKING OUT: In Hartford, Dan Haar writes the ongoing Comcast-YES Network carriage standoff is "part of a changing sports-telecom industrial complex -- and the changes are for the better." Viewers eventually will "get to the point where customers have robust choices on how they pull TV channels into their houses, with equally robust choices on what channels we choose to buy." If Comcast wants to help develop "a truly competitive TV landscape, it should stick to its position, refuse to pay YES an amount Comcast said exceeds $5 a month per subscriber, and lower its rates accordingly" (HARTFORD COURANT, 4/6).
SWEEPS WEEK: ESPN's Tony Kornheiser narrated the documentary "The Nomadic Who?," which "follows the DC broomball team." Filmmaker Kasey Kirby said, "The fact that an ESPN guy wanted to do it was sort of a home run." The film "will be live on iTunes on April 12, and on Amazon and Google Play later this month" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/6).
