Tv Measurement System Faces Big Challenges Now and in the Future

With increased diversity and fragmentation of TV platforms transforming the landscape at record pace, the currency of TV audience measurement is becoming an ever greater challenge.

It’s assuring to see Justin Sampson, Chief Executive of BARB  (the TV audience measurement body), in a recent article recognising the need for UK broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies to have a trusted audience currency for the number of viewers watching programmes and commercials across the broadcast platforms;  he also outlines BARB’s response to these challenges, led by Project Dovetail.

Project Dovetail

New data streams underway:-

• Reporting of multi-screen viewing of Broadcaster VOD (BVOD) services
• New developments for reporting pre-broadcast viewing, box set viewing and exposure to dynamically inserted advertising

While these initiatives are all to be applauded, my concern is for the size of the measurement panel itself.  With a reporting panel of only 5,100 homes across the UK representing the viewing public of individuals aged 4 and over,  and the continued growth of broadcast platforms vying for our attention, how robust will the reporting of audience figures actually be as we go forward?   In order to maintain industry confidence in the reporting data it’s clear to me that the audience measurement panel will require a sizeable increase in the near future.

John Alligan