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Cord-Cutting a Myth; Cord-Swapping Is Real

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[Editor's Note: This article and video first appeared on Beet.TV, and we republish it here with kind permission.]

Nielsen executive Howard Shimmel is the latest industry pundit to declare cord-cutting a myth, but did say that “cord-swapping” is occurring. He added, consumer behavior is changing with a new generation of viewers who prefer online as their TV medium, added Shimmel, SVP, Client Insights, Media Solutions at Nielsen.

“We don’t see cord-cutting going on, but there is cord swapping,” he said, referring to the choice some consumers make to switch from one multichannel service provider to another for a better deal on high-speed Internet and cable TV.

We spoke to Shimmel during the YuMe event about online video advertising in New York last week. Shimmel was one of the speakers.

Nielsen isn’t seeing evidence of cord-cutting in its research, but he did say that he’s seeing an emerging trend with 25- to-34-year-olds opting for Internet-only when they get apartments on their own for the first time. Those consumers are then watching TV shows or online video via an Xbox or Apple TV, for instance.

Nielsen is aiming to keep up with those trends via the launch of its widely anticipated Extended Screen measurement in April, which will track TV Everywhere-type viewing for the first time. “You achieve better results if you reach people across multiple platforms and things like video ad network inventory do very well in driving a consumer brand forward,” he said. 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. We have produced and published this video and several others to be posted under contract with YuMe. We hope you find this series of videos to be informative. 

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