​One week before fall TV launches, executives from ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC met to talk TV ratings and the need for a new measurement tool.

On Monday, the normally hyper-competitive executives met at the Fox lot to discuss how to go into the fall season. With viewers turning more and more to streaming and VOD, the Big Four have to find something other than overnight ratings in order to determine whether a new show a success or failure.

As the Los Angeles Times reports, network executives like Joe Earley, Fox’s chief marketing officer, wanted to stress the decreasing relevance of measurements such as next-day Nielsen ratings.

“Evaluating hits and misses based solely on the overnights is something that doesn’t make sense anymore,” Fox’s head of research, Will Somers, told the “Los Angeles Times.” Fox referenced its comedy “New Girl,” which often has more viewers through online or DVR than it does live.

All four also noted that they are aware this year’s ratings are likely to be lower than last year’s, with so many more ways to watch TV programming.

Brief Take: While more and more TV entities are beginning to focus on other ratings systems, there’s still a disconnect in the network-advertiser relationship. Networks are increasingly recognizing the importance of online, VOD and DVR measurements, but advertisers still put a lot of stake on overnight ratings and live viewers, a decreasing cohort in TV.

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