CBS: Facebook has better Social TV data than Twitter

David Poltrack, chief research officer at CBS has said that Facebook has significantly better Social TV data than both Twitter and Nielsen, as the social networking giant develops its own Social TV metric.

Speaking at the UBS Annual Global Media and Communications Conference, Poltrack spoke about Facebook’s recent development of its own measurement tool to cover conversations about television.

The problem with Nielsen’s TV metrics, Poltrack says, is that they do not take Facebook into consideration.

“Research has shown that Facebook activity about television far exceeds that of Twitter and the other social services,” Poltrack said as he confirmed that Facebook has been working with Keller Fay – an agency that tracks real-life word-of-mouth conversations – to coordinate these measures “at CBS’ urging”.

Research from Futurescape’s Social TV strategy report estimates that in the US, Facebook’s monthly active users represent approximately 70% of the TV audience over the age of 12, while Twitter represents a much lower 20.7%.

Last month, it was revealed that Facebook has also been experimenting with software that follows the minute movements of a cursor across the screen as the company aims to expand its data analytics.