The Internet earned its reputation of being the most-accountable media for advertising, based on the ability to measure ads, from views to sales conversions. It will become even more measurable next fall when Nielsen releases online television ratings as a complement to its regular TV ratings. The online ratings will be combined with its C3 ratings, which measure TV viewing and three days of DVR viewing. The company will measure viewership from 7,500 of the 12,000 households currently in its National People Meter Sample. Nielsen is in the process of installing Internet meters in those households (expected to be finished by August 2010).

There is a slight downside, though. The new service will only work when the online version of the TV program carries the same ads that run on the TV telecast. From my own experience, the ads that I’ve seen during TV programs (on sites like Hulu) are different and often for organizations that don’t typically advertise on regular television. According to Marketing Vox, this could actually lead to networks pushing to run more of the same ads in the online episodes, resulting in more viewers reached.

At the same time, this new online measurement system will work with cable TV’s TV Everywhere initiative, which refers to on-demand, streaming TV services that are available to those who subscribe to both digital cable and Internet services. Both Comcast and Time Warner Cable will benefit from this.

This is another big step in the integration of Internet and TV. By combining the entertainment value of television with the usability of the Internet, I think we could have a beast of a media that will have profound effects on how businesses market to consumers.