Trying to carve out another space where it differs from the competition, NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is claiming first-in status when it comes to providing metrics on streaming media to advertisers. Starting next month, NBC Digital Entertainment says it will use Nielsen Online’s VideoCensus to provide online streaming data by show in addition to the more common network-wide stats for NBC.com. The rationale: advertisers have been asking for it and NBC, the first broadcaster to tag streaming video for VideoCensus, thinks the numbers are accurate. Release.

An NBC spokesman told me the June info will be released publicly as well as to advertisers.

David adds: NBC’s competitors aren’t holding back. CBS Interactive’s (NYSE: CBS) David Botkin, SVP-Research and Audience Analytics, told me that CBS is in wait-and-see mode because it thinks all the measurement services are still in the “nascent stages” when it comes to adequately measuring online video. But CBS Interactive is sharing some stats: “We haven’t released show-level tracking broadly to advertisers, but we have given them information. We’ve also discussed some show-level data at conferences. We do share a lot of other data with advertisers that we think is also important.”

We also talked about how the Interactive Advertising Bureau negotiated with Nielsen and comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) to seek accreditation from the Media Ratings Council. Botkin would like the video services that those companies offer to go through a similar process.

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