-By Katy Bachman

Unlike the TV and cable networks that have adopted a live-plus-three-day ratings standard, local TV has been split between live and live-plus-seven. But on Friday (Nov. 14), the Television Bureau of Advertising took a stand, advocating that the industry use live-plus-three program ratings for local planning and buying in local people meter and metered markets.

The position runs contrary to many stations, which prefer live-plus-seven, which inevitably yields a bigger audience number (and higher rates), and agencies, which prefer live ratings, especially for particularly advertisers with time-sensitive campaigns, such as retailers.

"TVB's analysis of Nielsen data leads it to conclude that Live Only program ratings do not reflect the new realities of television viewing in local markets. The live-plus-three standard represents a more accurate estimate of audience behavior," said Chris Rohrs, president president of the TVB.

To make its case, the TVB cited Nielsen data that indicated that in three days, more than 90 percent of playback has taken place and between 51 percent and 86 percent, depending on daypart, occurs on the same day the program was recorded. As for skipping commercials, Nielsen's Three Screen Report found that nearly half of commercials were viewed in real time whey played back within three days.

For the vast majority of advertisers, ads that air within three days of original airtime will still serve to build awareness of a campaign, motivate consumers to react to a time-sensitive sales event, or cause consumers to take another desired action, the TVB concluded.