Marc Graboff (pictured second from right), chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios agreed, and talked up CIMM, the newly-formed coalition of media agencies and networks that are trying to develop better on- and offline content ratings metrics. “The plan is to show an advertiser in black-and-white – this is how many people are consuming our show, across all these platforms,” he said. “And it seems like that finally woke Nielsen up.”

Other panelists explained that the mentality behind how to monetize TV shows is starting to evolve. “When we first decide to create a show, we’re thinking about how it will work internationally, how we’ll get DVD sales and whether we can syndicate or stream it,” said Dana Walden, chairman of Twentieth Century Fox TV.

Walden (pictured far left) used Prison Break as an example of the new thought process. “Prison Break was never a huge ratings success, but there was this whole community that was watching on DVR – and wanted to eventually buy it. The show also had a big international opportunity – so for the most part, the shift to DVR hasn’t hurt us.”

Mark Koops (pictured second from left), managing director and co-head of domestic TV for Reveille, referenced The Office and The Biggest Loser as examples of shows that were making tons of money – despite getting lackluster on-air ratings. “Neither show launched as a huge success – but they kept attracting high-end advertisers and partnerships – and so the networks said, ‘this works for us’ and bought more.”