FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Digital TV Association joins hands with Nielsen to start new ratings system

Digital TV Association joins hands with Nielsen to start new ratings system

Media watchdog NBTC has approved a budget of THB288.8 million for the development of a new television ratings system proposed by the Association of Digital Television Broadcasting (Thailand).

A memorandum of understanding has been signed with Nielsen, who will be the contractor to conduct the cross-platform ratings both through television and online platforms for four years.

The new ratings system will cover changes in technology and consumer behaviour in the digital era to upgrade the quality of the industry,

Suphap Kleekajai, president of the Association of Digital Television Broadcasting (Thailand), said.

He said the association had continuously pushed for this project for more than two years. The aim is to create credibility, accuracy, and transparency in the origin of samples and research methods in international standards for entrepreneurs to develop programme format and for media agencies to plan advertising media purchases effectively, he said.

The association, with the participation of media agency representatives, sought qualified companies to present a new ratings plan to subscribers of all digital TV operators, Suphap said. Finally, Nielsen company with expertise, reputation, and international research survey standards has been chosen to conduct this rating survey, he said.

The association then submitted the details of the project management plan according to the conditions to the NBTC, which allocated a budget of THB288 million to begin conducting a new television ratings survey in four years.

The key to the new television ratings survey is to expand the sample units used as the basis for developing programme ratings, from 9,000 to 13,000 samples. Simultaneously the development of new survey software will lead to cross-platform TV programme rating measurement from both terrestrial TV and online platform. The ratings survey will be conducted transparently by internationally recognised independent auditors. The new rating results will not be limited to using only to digital TV operators and the NBTC, but government agencies or educational institutions can benefit from the ratings report as well, he said.

After signing the MoU last week, the association and Nielsen immediately began implementing plans. In the first year, they will undertake installing the system, equipment and expand the sample group for collecting survey results. The first cross-platform television programme ratings will be reported around August 2022.

The cross-platform TV ratings survey is the latest research system technology that Nielsen has developed and is already being used in the United States and accepted in many countries across the world. Recently, this system has been installed in Denmark and Saudi Arabia. Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to implement this new TV ratings system.

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