Bowker is best known for providing industry insights and data for ebooks, digital publishing, and tablets. They normally issue monthly reports that give the entire industry a sense in usage and statistics. Today, Nielsen has purchased Bowker’s Business Intelligence and Commerce Solutions products. This acquisition will build on Nielsen’s existing global book intelligence by adding enhanced offerings in transaction services and sales measurement and analysis.
“We are committed to elevating the global book industry’s understanding of print and digital book measurement and discovery within an evolving media landscape,” said Jonathan Nowell, President, Books, Nielsen. “Bowker has developed first-rate book analytic solutions, which offer a great complement to Nielsen’s existing solutions for the book industry. We are excited to welcome Bowker’s team to Nielsen and we will work together to provide our clients with the measurement, tools, insights and linked commerce solutions needed to exceed their current and future expectations.”
“Our commitment at Bowker and ProQuest is to develop solutions that streamline the workflow of our customers,” said ProQuest CEO Kurt Sanford. “By bringing together Nielsen and Bowker analytic services, book publishers will receive the critical data they require to navigate the transition to digital-first publishing, through one tool set from one source, significantly simplifying the collection of business intelligence.”
There is no word yet on how streamlined the ebook data reports will get in the near future. It is likely that a number of Bowker employees will be reporting directly to Nielsen, and the same is true of the underlying book analytics technologies. What we do know is Nielson will release a new self-publishing report in the fall and likely will have more comprehensive data than either of the two companies have released before.
Bowker in the immediate future is still owned by ProQuest. The company will now focus on their self-publishing tool set and ISBN business.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
