EMERYVILLE, Calif.—Nielsen has created a new platform with the goal to better measure diversity and inclusion on TV—Gracenote Inclusion Analytics. The new platform is meant to provide content creators, owners, distributors and advertisers with data around on-screen diversity and representation, so as to enable more inclusive content.
According to a recent Nielsen report on diversity and inclusion, women make up 52% of the population but only 38% of top recurring cast in popular broadcast, cable and streaming programs. People of color, meanwhile, are 40% of the population but have just 27% of top TV roles.
“The entertainment industry has a massive challenge ahead—to ensure the talent associated with popular TV programming mirrors today’s increasingly diverse viewing audiences,” said Sandra Sims-Williams, senior vice president, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Nielsen. “By democratizing information around representation in content, Gracenote Inclusion Analytics holds the power to push the industry toward better balance and a more equitable future.”
Gracenote Inclusion Analytics combines Gracenote Global Video program metadata and Studio System celebrity race and ethnicity data with currency grade Nielsen Television Ratings and Nielsen SVOD Content Ratings data. Using these data points, the new system is meant to provide proprietary metrics assessing the degree to which different identity groups are featured in programming and how evenly this reflects viewing audiences.
The proprietary metrics are Share of Screen, which quantifies and identity group’s representation among top recurring talent; Inclusion Opportunity Index, which compares share of screen for an identity group to their representation in population estimates; and Inclusion Audience Index, comparing share of screen for a group to their representation in the program’s viewing audience.
This data can be used to help a distributor highlight and recommend certain programs, evaluate whether content meets Diversity, Equity and Inclusion benchmarks and highlight programs for licensing or advertising opportunities.
At launch, Gracenote Inclusion Analytics will provide data and insights around gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation of on-camera talent appearing in popular broadcast, cable and streaming programs. Future enhancements are expected to expand product coverage to include theatrical movies as well as behind-the-camera talent.
“Audiences today actively seek out programs that highlight people who resemble them and experiences that reflect their own,” said Tina Wilson, head of Analytics at Nielsen. “Under these circumstances, it’s critical that the entertainment industry create authentic content which resonates with underrepresented groups. Together, Nielsen and Gracenote are uniquely positioned to help the industry seize upon this opportunity by way of new data analytics solutions ensuring meaningful connections between content and audiences.”
For more information, visit www.gracenote.com.
