NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH ANNOUNCED plans to add college students living away from home into its national TV ratings sample beginning in early 2007, marking the first time it will incorporate a so-called "out-of-home" viewing segment into its regular ratings panel.

Based on a series of special out-of-home measurement studies, the impact on TV audience levels and advertising rates may be quite explicit, raising ratings for some programs by as much as a full rating point. At least that's the conclusion of a two-year Nielsen pilot study commissioned by Turner Broadcasting, The WB, CBS, MTV Networks, Fox, and ESPN.