• by Wayne Friedman , August 15, 2017

Nielsen says three of the largest digital video platforms — Facebook, Hulu and YouTube — will now be included in its digital content ratings. That offers a broader view of media owners' content.

Video content, including full episodes of TV content and/or video clips, will provide a more consistent way to determine content performance and audience behavior, according to company officials. It will help improve the measurement company’s Nielsen Total Audience cross-platform measurement product.

Last month, Nielsen said digital viewing of Hulu and YouTube TV would be included in the Nielsen Digital in TV ratings. This includes C3 and C7 ratings that advertisers use on traditional TV platforms.

Nielsen says this will only occur if a viewer watching a program on Hulu or YouTube TV, regardless of device, sees the same commercials that ran when the program first aired on TV.

In the past, some TV/media executives have complained that matching TV commercials can be of limited use in such ratings metrics.

Nielsen Digital in TV Ratings, which launched in 2015, counts live, DVR and on-demand TV digital viewing across desktop, tablets and smartphones when the content and commercials match the ad load for a show’s original linear TV airing.