CHANTILLY, Va. & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIA/Kelsey, the leading research and consulting company focused on traditional and digital media, today announced a new alliance with Share Rocket, a leader in social media ratings for the broadcast industry. The partnership will include a variety of industry initiatives designed to examine social media audiences of local TV stations. Featured in the partnership is the addition of Share Rocket's station-level social media data for the top 100 U.S. local television markets to BIA/Kelsey's data and analytical software, MEDIA Access Pro™, and the firm's new advertising dashboard product, ADVantage.
“Broadcasters are intent on monetizing the value of their social audiences, especially as consumers turn to multiple channels and devices to consume content,” said Rick Ducey, managing director, BIA/Kelsey. “Our goal in working with Share Rocket is to offer social data to broadcasters that will help them create a social currency around their audiences. We will deliver this information via industry 'how to' papers and within our own software products that industry professionals use daily.”
According to BIA/Kelsey forecasts, the social media advertising industry in the U.S. will grow to $31.5 billion by 2021, from $14.9 billion in 2016. The firm has been tracking a consistent shift from traditional media channels with more ad spend shifting towards online, digital and mobile platforms. One example of this trend is revealed in a recent Share Rocket study that indicates that local TV Facebook pages are growing 48 percent year over year versus Facebook’s seven percent overall average audience growth in the U.S.
"As distribution channels evolve, ratings solutions and transactional currencies are the next logical step beyond standard metrics and analytics tools for broadcasters to determine the best next steps for their social channels," said Chris Kraft, CEO, Share Rocket. "Share Rocket delivers the share-based metrics broadcasters need to better understand their social audiences and improve performance both for consumers and advertisers. We are excited to partner with BIA/Kelsey to bring this data directly to broadcasters."
TV broadcasters could realize some of the $10 billion that will be spent in locally targeted social advertising by 2021 by using their high value and premium news content to develop news packages specifically for social channels that could reach different audience segments than over-the-air alone.
The firms are co-authoring a new paper to examine the social media roadmap for broadcasters. To reserve a copy, click now.
