Kantar Media expected to be named TV rating,
UK-based Kantar Media, one of three companies submitting tenders, is expected to be named the official national TV-rating and multi-platform audience meter, according to an industry source.
The selection process, initiated by the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT), began in March, with tenders invited from Kantar Media, Japan’s Video Research International and Germany-based GfK.
There was no participation from the current TV-rating meter, Nielsen (Thailand).
After completion of the negotiation process, the Media Research Bureau (MRB) – which consists of representatives from the MAAT, national free-TV operators and cable/satellite broadcasters and media agencies – will endorse Kantar Media as the official multi-platform audience measurement provider for Thailand, said the source.
The MAAT and the MRB will announce the appointment of the official provider on Friday.
The MRB and Kantar Media will also ink a five-year contract, with a first option to extend, while ownership of research data will be with the bureau, the source added.
Early this year, Romania’s TV joint industry committee appointed Kantar Media to conduct TV audience measurement under a four-year contract.
The British company is also conducting ratings for the industry in the Philippines.
The source said the establishment survey run by Kantar Media in Thailand would commence next month, immediately after the firm’s appointment.
Data collection will take one year and all data will be ready for distribution in August next year, one month behind the original schedule.
"In the first five years, the investment on panel deployment and software installation and training will be around Bt1.4 billion," said the source.
In addition, the MAAT is planning to submit a written notice to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, requesting initial funding of Bt300 million to Bt400 million.
This financial support would be allocated from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest.
As a non-profit operation, the MRB will manage all transactions with members via fund contributions.
Funding members will have access to all data, while non-members will be charged based on their data requirement.
Some data can be shared for educational purposes.
