Asian-Language Broadcaster KTSF Announces Agreement with Nielsen Media Research for Use of Local People Meter Data in the San Francisco Market

Asian-Language Broadcaster KTSF Announces Agreement with Nielsen Media Research for Use of Local People Meter Data in the San Francisco Market

SAN FRANCISCO, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move that demonstrates both the viewing strength of Asian American viewers in the Bay Area and the popularity of its programming, KTSF-TV today announced that it can now provide viewership data through its agreement with Nielsen Media Research.

"KTSF now becomes the first Asian media outlet in the United States to make Nielsen Local People Meter (LPM) numbers available to current and prospective advertisers," said Michael Sherman, the station's General Manager.

Sherman said the viewing numbers received thus far in 2005 indicate that the KTSF audience in the Bay Area is loyal, growing and competitive in primetime match ups with Hispanic broadcasters and even some network affiliates. Examples of KTSF viewership from Nielsen LPM data for the SF Designated Market Area (DMA) for January and February include:

-- Combined unduplicated average nightly viewership for KTSF's two newscasts (Cantonese 7:00-8:00 pm M-F and Mandarin 10:00-11:00 pm M-F) totaled 82,000 adults 18+. -- In key demos, such as women 25-54 and men 25-54, KTSF delivers more primetime viewers than three of four Hispanic broadcasters in the market. -- Special Chinese New Year programming delivers average hourly viewers of more than 100,000 of persons 2+.

Prior to using Nielsen for viewer research, KTSF employed coincidental call methodology to measure viewership of its programs. The station switched to Nielsen following the launch of LPM methodology in the San Francisco television market. This electronic technology allows selected Nielsen homes to actually register when they are watching TV, thus automatically capturing more tuning information than using previous methodology requiring viewers to use paper diaries and set-meters.

With Asian homes accounting for 19.6% of Nielsen's sample in San Francisco, Sherman says Nielsen's new LPM sample more accurately reflects the diverse population of the San Francisco market. "After nearly thirty years of getting feedback from our audience, we now have an even better tool to measure the preferences of the 1.4 million Asian Americans in this market," he said.

"Our members are very enthusiastic about the data we are seeing from Nielsen Media Research in the greater San Francisco Bay Area," said Bill Imada, president of the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF). "We always knew that KTSF Television had outstanding programs in Asian languages and in English. These numbers validate that Asian-American viewers are consuming Asian-focused television in both Asian languages and in English. Marketers and advertisers should pay close attention to this data."

Vicky Wong, President of Dae Advertising, a leading Asian American ad agency based in San Francisco, said "We at Dae Advertising are delighted to see this new development in Asian media measurement. It's truly a milestone in our industry. Industry standard measurement tools such as Nielsen ratings would help reflect the true preferences in media consumption among Asian Americans and confirms the reach and impact of Asian-specific programming."

"We believe the availability of Nielsen data will help fuel the growth of the Asian market in this country," Sherman said. "If more of the major Asian media outlets around the country turn to Nielsen as a standard it will give advertisers and agencies a very compelling reason to look more seriously at the Asian market. The Hispanic media has delivered these numbers for years and now Asian media has the same tools."

KTSF's highest ratings result from in-language Chinese programming such as the Cantonese Evening News, the Mandarin Evening News and its series of primetime dramas. But KTSF is also pushing beyond its in-language base by producing programming such as StirTV -- the first English language show for and about Asian America's next generation.

KTSF is locally owned and operated by the Lincoln Broadcasting Company. In the Bay Area, KTSF is available over-the-air on channel 26 and on cable channel 8 on Comcast Cable throughout the market. DirecTV and Dish Network also carry KTSF.

Contact: Lisa Yokota 415 468-2626 or Paul Fadelli 510 813-2513

Source: KTSF-TV

CONTACT: Lisa Yokota, +1-415-468-2626 or Paul Fadelli, +1-510-813-2513, both for KTSF-TV

Web site: http://www.ktsf.com/

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