New York - Citing "a multiplicity of reported discrepancies" in the Web audience measurement data of rival providers comScore and Nielsen/NetRatings, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced that it has asked the firms to submit to a third-party audit of their measurement processes.

The IAB said that disparities exist both between the numbers reported by comScore and Nielsen, and between the two firms' numbers and the server logs of IAB members, who account for 86% of the nation's interactive advertising spending.

The IAB said the companies have been resisting audit requests since 1999, adding that its goal with the audit is "to achieve transparency in audience counts and to revise out-of-date technologies."

"To persist in using panels that potentially undercount or ignore the diverse populations that are the future of consumer marketing is to deny marketers the insights they need to build their businesses," IAB president and CEO Randall Rothenberg wrote in an open letter to comScore and Nielsen/NetRatings.

"And it certainly appears to us as if these audiences are being undercounted or disregarded."

ComScore responded by saying it would submit to the audit, adding that its measurement process is currently also being evaluated by the Advertising Research Foundation; CNET News.com reported that Nielsen is expected to respond to the IAB's audit request shortly.

Related Links:
http://www.iab.net/news/pr_2007_04_20.asp

http://tinyurl.com/349w2q (CNET)

http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1400

http://www.nielsen-netratings.com