Nielsen unveils Media Data Room for secure data sharing

Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, announced today the introduction of Nielsen Media Data Room (MDR), a cloud-based platform that will modernize the way the company distributes its wealth of audience data. As census first-party data from clients plays an increasing role in measurement, this important innovation will provide the industry with the necessary means to access and share large data sets in an efficient, privacy-safe way.  

Nielsen’s MDR will be brought to market by working with Snowflake and using its Media Data Cloud as the underlying platform. The first data set made available under this initial implementation will be Nielsen Respondent Level Data (NRLD), which is a modeled, representative subsample from 35MM homes, for U.S. National linear television. Clients will easily access NRLD and query the data for near real-time insights. 

By leveraging Snowflake, Nielsen will bring a familiar technology platform that is already embedded into many client workflows. This will enable efficient and governed deployment of Nielsen Media Data Room, minimize set up for existing Snowflake clients, and provide clients with the flexibility to join Nielsen and their first-party datasets more easily in the future.

MDR is one of many ways in which Nielsen is ensuring its data is available in the media ecosystem. While Nielsen will continue to enhance data delivery through APIs, industry workflows that fuel the industry’s buying and posting systems, and in Nielsen ONE, MDR will ultimately replace all previous forms of data distribution, including FTP and custom Nielsen applications.  

“Nielsen has always been a company leading the way in how it uses data in powerful ways on behalf of our customers,” said Srini Varadarajan, Chief Technology Officer for Audience Measurement. “The modernization of our data architecture in service of delivering analytics to customers in a highly customizable, secure and reliable cloud-based environment is yet another example of how we innovate to serve the complex needs of the media ecosystem.”

The introduction of Nielsen MDR underscores the evolution and modernization of Nielsen’s data architecture, which sits atop Nielsen’s Media Data Lake – the cloud-based repository that houses all of the data used by the company for audience measurement. Nielsen MDR is the first phase of its data modernization strategy and will ultimately evolve to be powered by Snowflake’s data clean room technology, offering an environment that allows companies to perform data collaboration and analysis with respondent level data from all households in the future. 

“In today’s media ecosystem, advertisers, agencies and media companies all need data collaboration and accessibility in near real-time, all wrapped in a privacy-preserving technology,” said Bill Stratton, Global Head of Media, Entertainment and Advertising, Snowflake. “In joining Snowflake’s Media Data Cloud, Nielsen will be delivering the next generation of data products for their clients.”

Nielsen’s progress towards building a technology ecosystem that meets customers’ needs for privacy, speed, reliability and effectiveness speaks to the significant investment Nielsen has made in recent years alongside the development and launch of its Nielsen ONE platform. Nielsen MDR will play a significant role in the company’s preparation to transition to Big Data+Panel National TV measurement and ultimately support the industry’s transition to Individual Commercial Metrics.