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The
media uses it as the basis for advertising rates. Advertisers rely
on it for media planning. And content creators use it for planning
programs and media content. In many ways, audience measurement has
become the "currency" for television, radio & print worldwide. Besides
readership, the print medium has circulation to fall back on; but
there is no equivalent data for the electronic media. So it's not
surprising that a TV channel's success is measured by the growth
of its TRPs.
User demands keep increasing, finally leading to a point where existing
systems are perceived as "wanting". There are such a perceived lacunae
with TRP data - they are required to monitor multiple media. And
they are required "instantly" vis a vis the delivery time of 1 -
2 weeks from the date of telecast.
So it is quite natural that large research companies are regularly
trying to deploy new technology to create new models & methods which
will (hopefully) deliver TRP data ASAP.
TV Audience Measurement
TV viewing is traditionally monitored by collecting local market
ratings which are nothing but records of TV program viewership by
"respondent households" (who list what shows they watched during
each monthly cycle in paper diaries and mail back to the agency).
Each "respondent household" was part of a carefully (& scientifically)
selected sample set of households. This method required a minimum
period of 6-7 weeks for data delivery.
More than a decade ago, a new method was introduced : each "respondent
household" was supplied electronic hardware called TV meters which
were connected to the household television set. The TV remote control
unit was replaced by the remote unit of the TV meter. Every member
of the household would be "registered as a number" on the remote
and was supposed to use this remote while switching on / off / changing
channels so that individual TV viewing habits of all household members
would be recorded.
The data recorded by the TV meter could be transmitted to a central
computer system by modem or collected manually, and subsequently
processed. The results of the processing would be a projection of
the sample households. This method can deliver data within 7 - 10
days from date of telecast. Delivery is usually to a local software
package installed at clients' end, which allows clients to analyze
results and generate reports.
TV
Meter Debuts in L.A. (July 8, 2004)
Today L.A. saw the formal launch of Local People Meter service.
Los Angeles - the second-largest TV market of U.S.A. also saw
critics gathered at Los Angeles City Hall to press for delay
of the launch of People Meters - pending an independent audit
of its procedures.
Nielsen defends its electronic People Meter method as a vast
improvement on the decades-old process of generating local market
ratings through the paper "diary" method.
But Congress-sanctioned watchdog Media Rating Council
which monitors audience ratings providers has declined to give
its accreditation seal of approval to the New York People Meter
service after an audit found problems with response rates in
minority households, as well as with some of Nielsen's racial
and ethnic classification.
And the U.S. Senate’s Communications Subcommittee has
announced a hearing on the people meters on July 15, 2004. One
member has publicly urged Nielsen to stop the rollout of its
People Meters until an independent review can certify their
accuracy.
Meanwhile, in an obvious attempt to stop Nielsen from rolling
out the People Meters, Spanish-language network Univision has
sued Nielsen.
Nielsen meanwhile has announced its plans to introduce people
meters in Chicago in August 2004. |
New
Technologies Beckon - Mediawatch
Germany research agency GfK has recently unveiled MediaWatch. Modeled
on a wristwatch, it monitors media reach by measuring all "media"
that the wearer comes into contact with on a 24x7 basis. Mediawatch
offers media companies, advertisers & agencies new options in the
decision-making process when planning media content & advertising.
Amongst other points, Mediawatch claims to be the first technology
worldwide which is able to measure the media contact of the wearer
with radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and other printed matter as
well as cinema and outdoor advertising. This is certainly a completely
new approach as, to date research has been media-specific, with
each device measuring one medium. The watch contains a micro recording
unit which encodes & records audio and radio signals 3 times per
minute. The MediaWatch is able to store data for up to 4 weeks.
And with docking stations, panel members can send the signals to
the GfK IT centres. These are immediately processed for analysis
purposes.
MediaWatch is a further development of the Radiocontrol audiometer
(1998) developed by GfK subsidiary, Telecontrol to measure radio
audiences. GfK Group also offers Telecontrol TV meter which is used
in 11 countries.
Passive People Meter - Too Much Technology?
Nielsen has been working for a quarter century on Passive People
Meter (PPM). The current version resembles a sleek box camera with
cable & telephone jacks and a computer loaded with sophisticated
software. The computer learns your face, stores the picture as the
PPM scans the room once every second. It senses movements by comparing
successive scans and is not fooled by glasses, hairstyle changes,
facial hair, or changing expressions. And it can also tell a human
from a non-human object, "see" in the dark and has a wide-angle
lens for a better view.
The Passive People Meter could be our future set-top box: a powerful
computer which can use phone, cable lines to link the TV set with
broadcasters. And actually monitor viewers' actions by aiming cameras
from their TV set top !
Finale
If Television is history in the making, then Passive People
Meter may be called Television History in the making !
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