Nielsen expanding measurements to more platforms
In response to increasing demand from advertisers and media owners amid the rapidly evolving media landscape, Nielsen Thailand will expand its TV and advertising measurements to more platforms ranging from digital and cable/satellite TV to over-the-top se
Sinthu Peatrarut, managing director of media client leadership, said yesterday that in the first quarter of next year, the digital-TV coupons given away by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) were expected to cover all 77 provinces in the country.
This implies that all households can watch terrestrial-based digital TV channels, he said at the second annual "Nielsen Road Map" event.
To improve the accuracy of TV rating measurement, Nielsen had steadily increased the sample size since the fourth quarter of last year with 1,800 households after the NBTC started distribution of the coupons in October in 42 provinces.
The sample size rose to 2,200 households in the second quarter of this year, and is expected to continue growing to 2,400 households in the first quarter of next year and more than 3,000 households in 2017.
Nielsen will focus more on digital terrestrial TV and cable/satellite TV as the key media platforms to be measured. For example, sampling panels for digital TV will increase to 700 next year from 600 this year, and for cable/satellite to 1,300 from 1,200.
Through these aggressive efforts, Nielsen wants to improve its TV rating measurement to deal with pressure from local TV broadcasters after the birth of digital terrestrial TV channels last year.
Among the new players in the digital TV business, Thairath TV has admitted that Nielsen’s data could be only used as a compass to develop TV contents.
"At this point, Nielsen’s data are quite limited for the digital terrestrial TV business. So we cannot use and analyse them to create a greater impact on our TV programmes," said Jitsupa Vacha-raphol, chief strategy and marketing officer at Triple V Broadcast, the operator of Thairath TV.
"It would be great if Nielsen could provide more insights to help us in that regard," he said.
Somwalee Limrachtamorn, leader of Nielsen Thailand, said her company aimed to provide total audience measurement, which covers TV and online advertising.
"The aim of total audience measurement is involved with the ability to de-duplicate the total numbers, removing duplicate views by the same person on different platforms.
"This tool could help media owners value their media assets and help broadcasters produce the right content for the right targeted audience," she said.
Nielsen is also planning to launch audience measurement on digital radio, over-the-top service and out-of-home TV in the near future.
