Worried that more people are seeing their programs than is being given, a consortium of 14 major media companies, advertisers and agencies are teaming up in an effort to develop new methods to measure how people watch their favorite TV shows. Among those participating in the venture are Time Warner Inc., Viacom Inc., CBS Corp., NBC Universal, Walt Disney Co., News Corp., Procter & Gamble Co., AT&T Inc., Unilever PLC and advertising giant WPP Group PLC. 'We all have an urgent need to evolve our methods of measurement,' said Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman in a statement. WPP Group CEO Martin Sorrell said, 'It is critical for the various constituencies to agree on the priorities for the next generation of media measurement systems.' The move comes amid growing frustration with Nielsen, which has been measuring television ratings since the medium entered the mainstream in the mid-1940s. Earlier this year, Nielsen caught heat from the television industry when it acknowledged that an internal study revealed there were homes not properly using the TV measuring meters where they were installed. There is also concern that Nielsen is not adapting quickly enough to how people watch television. Consumers are watching more content on their computers and mobile devices as well as using digital video recorders to view shows after they have aired. While Nielsen tracks all of this, clients would like to see it simplified and streamlined. Dubbing itself the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement, or CIMM, the group said it is establishing a research fund and will review a series of pilot studies with independent measurement companies about how to better analyze the consumption of media. The results could prod Nielsen to change its methods. 'It is time to take our future into our own hands,' said Alan Wurtzel, NBC Universal's president of research in detailing the plan. Advertisers spent about $70 billion in 2008 on television alone, according TNS Media Intelligence, a media research company. While clearly not pleased with the current system, Wurtzel and other consortium participants said this was not a covert effort to replace Nielsen, as some have speculated. 'If we wanted to do something that is an alternative, that is doable,' Wurtzel said. David Poltrack, CBS's chief research officer, said the purpose of this organization is to 'support innovative research,' but that if anything is actually developed for commercial use, that would be done independently of the coalition. Conspicuously missing, however, from the list of companies involved are new media giants such as Google or Yahoo. Wurtzel said CIMM is 'not designed to solve every measurement problem,' but said he would welcome Google or other new media companies to join as a potential partner because they already provide some form of media measurement. A Nielsen spokeswoman said the ratings company 'shares all of the objectives' of the coalition and 'has always worked closely with clients to bring innovation to the industry.' The company said it looks forward to working with CIMM and 'would like to hear more about its plans.' 