USA: 7 Day Ratings:Why Advertisers May See C7 as Fuzzy Math

Viewers have a dizzying array of new ways to watch TV, but the companies that broadcast the shows still get paid the old-fashioned way: based on ratings. So it's little wonder that as more viewers watch their favorite TV shows with the help of DVRs, video-on-demand and streaming video, the TV networks are trying to rebuild their traditional business.

In recent months, that has included a growing push from Walt Disney, News Corp., NBC Universal and CBS Corp. for a new system that would expand the currency of the business. Instead of counting the audience for commercials over the first three days from a program's original showing, the standard known as C3, networks are increasingly agitating to include audiences for commercials over seven days, a standard called C7.

The increasing spread and use of DVRs "clearly have shifted the rating in the direction in the direction of C3 and, ultimately, hopefully C7," said Bob Iger, chief executive of Walt Disney Co. in a recent conference call with analysts. "I think it speaks for an expanded look from a Nielsen and an advertising perspective at seven days vs. three."

Ad buyers aren't nearly as sanguine. "There will never be one standard for all clients on that issue," said one ad-buying executive. "When you get to C7, you're going to take a lot of money off the table or you're going to have a lot of people who just don't feel very good about it, given the date specificity of what they are advertising."

Few buyers will speak on the record about the issue. We found one who would.

Rino Scanzoni has been an instrumental player in the $9 billion TV market. As chief investment officer for WPP's GroupM, he oversees the allocation of a massive sum of ad spending, and in the past has been able to spark movement in the TV-advertising market when divisive issues arose. Mr. Scanzoni was a big part of the industry's movement to commercial ratings after decades of relying on program ratings to determine ad prices, assembling a large deal with NBC Universal in 2007 that ultimately made commercial ratings a reality across the business.

While C3 is widely accepted, according to Mr. Scanzoni, C7 will likely be suitable for a narrower band of sponsors -- and even then, only if the TV outlets dangle an economic incentive. In a frank discussion with Advertising Age, he outlined advertiser concerns, did some math and took a look at how TV is likely to evolve in the future. Our conversation has been lightly edited.