Rentrak to track U-verse

AT&T reportedly has signed a deal with audience-measurement firm Rentrak to have the firm measure viewing patterns of U-verse TV customers, according to Multichannel News. The company collects anonymous data from set-top boxes throughout a carrier's customer base that can then be converted into intelligence for advertisers and content providers.

In addition to collecting basic data on the number of subscribers watching a particular program and average length of viewing time, Rentrak also can find out to what extent subscribers use DVR capabilities to fast-forward through commercial breaks or even specific commercials. AT&T also will co-market Rentrak's TV Essentials service to content providers, local TV stations and marketing clients.

While IPTV service providers likely will be leveraging ad insertion and targeted advertising within the next year, this type of subscriber intelligence could prove useful in making those capabilities more valuable, as well as endearing telcos like AT&T to their content partners.

For more:
- Multichannel News has this story

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