IRI, Nielsen to Draw From Same Household Data Pool

CHICAGO — Information Resources Inc. here and the Nielsen Co., New York, have formed a joint venture to recruit, maintain and process data from a common set of households to support the companies' separate IRI Consumer Network and Nielsen Homescan panels.

Though the household pool will be owned by the joint venture, the techniques for delivering insights will remain proprietary to each company. It will begin operation early next year.

The resource's foundation will be the existing Nielsen household sample and data acquisition infrastructure. As panelists naturally drop off from the original sample, they'll be replaced with households drawn from IRI's existing pool. A five-year history of data related to the households will be available to both companies.

In addition, IRI's RxPulse Patient Panel will be replaced by a new Rx panel recruited by the joint venture. Nielsen will continue to be the sole provider of its Hispanic specialty panel.

Under the agreement's terms, Nielsen will have access to all of the more than 100,000 households, while IRI will have access to 86%, with the right to acquire up to 100% after two years. The joint venture is owned 50-50, and will be governed by a board with equal representation from both companies and an independent chief executive officer to be recruited from outside the companies.

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