Nielsen: Twitter boosts TV viewing

Nielsen’s Twitter Causation Study found a statistically causal influence indicating that a spike in TV ratings can increase the volume of Tweets, and, conversely, a spike in Tweets can increase tune-in.

Live TV ratings had a statistically significant impact in related Tweets among 48% of the episodes sampled, and that the volume of Tweets caused statistically significant changes in live TV Ratings among 29% of the episodes.

Chief research officer at Nielsen Paul Donato said: “Media companies and advertisers have already made investments in social media outreach as a means of engaging more directly with consumers, and we believe there are worthwhile opportunities for Nielsen to conduct additional research that can help quantify the relationship between television and social media activity.”