New audience rating service, other platforms announced
DOZENS OF DIGITAL, cable and satellite TV broadcasters in conjunction with media agencies yesterday announced the creation of a new audience-measurement service for television and other platforms.
This will lead to competition with long-time ratings provider Nielsen Thailand, as Channel 7, which currently enjoys the lion’s share of TV advertising spending, and newcomer Channel 8 will not switch camps.
The new TV rating service will be managed by the Media Research Development Association (MRDA), formerly known as the Media Research Bureau (MRB).
Comprising 20 operators of terrestrial-based digital TV channels, 41 cable and satellite TV operators and 25 media agencies, MRDA members have appointed Subhab Kleekachai as president.
“It’s time to revolutionise how we measure TV audiences so as to help broadcasters improve the quality of programming. The current TV rating system does not reflect the new reality,” Subhab said.
He said the industry needed changes in the national TV rating system after the introduction of 24 new digital TV channels.
Last year, the group joined forces to form the MRB, overseen by the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT), leading to the setting up of a new research firm that will be run by UK-based Kantar Media.
Nielsen Thailand, the long-established provider of TV ratings in Thailand, did not join the bidding process organised by the MRB in May.
Only three companies – Japanese Radio Research International, Kantar Media and Germany-based GfK – participated in the bid. After that, MRB selected Kantar Media as the successful bid winner.
MAAT chairwoman Wannee Ruttanaphon said the new association would sign an agreement with Kantar Media on December 16 to set up the new TV rating service.
Preparation for and establishment of a panel of experts to conduct the rating systematically will take about a year and new data should be available and ready for use by the industry in 2017.
Wannee said new rating data to be produced by Kantar Media and endorsed by the MRDA would be different from those provided by the current service provider. The coverage of media platforms will be wider, with the MRDA planning to have a larger sample size.
The MRDA’s planned sample size is 3,000 households for TV audience measurement and an additional 9,600 to measure audiences using other devices. Under the current system, only TV ratings are measured from a sample size of only 2,200 households.
All MRDA members will be able to get full access because they own the data.
