Nielsen announced the launch of the Neilsen, Podcast Listener Buying Power Service from Nielsen Scarborough, with iHeartMedia, Cadence13, Midroll-Stitcher’s advertising arm, Westwood One and cabana as charter clients. For the first time, clients will be able to profile shows using program titles collected from Neilson Scarborough to connect specific types of listeners with particular advertisers and specific program-level insights.

In other words, this is the Nielsen for podcasting, which will function similarly to how that system has been used with television shows.

Only Nielsen, with its extensive Scarborough category database has this type of advertiser connection with podcasting. Neilsen Podcast Listener Buying Power Service has an effective sample of close to 30,000 respondents, with the ability to capture results for specific programs.

It also uses target questions on podcast listening with more than 12 podcast genres, over 2,000 retail/plan-to-buy categories and hundreds of advertisers with specific brand names such as insurance companies, automotive, quick service restaurants, home improvement retailers and more. These easy-to-use reports are generated from web-based software and have a two time per year database.

“We are pleased to welcome iHeartMedia, Cadence13, Midroll, Westwood One and cabana as the first charter clients to Nielsen’s Podcast Listener Buying Power Service,” said Brad Kelly, Managing Director, Nielsen Audio.

“As the audio landscape continues to evolve, podcasting is winning the attention of American consumers as another powerful tool in audio’s arsenal. We are proud to empower these visionary clients with the insights that will propel them forward as they continue to lead the way in our industry. This groundbreaking service is growing podcasting beyond direct response by profiling specific brands, leading the way into the future of podcasting.”