BARB

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BARB
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BARB Theres a lot going on?
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BARB Theres a lot going on

• Tony Wearn, Research Director, BARB

MRG Presentation 13th July 2006
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Content

• Interactive Tests
• Unitam Meters
• Video On Demand
• Personal Meter Tests
• Sky Reporting
• The Future
• And some thoughts

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Interactive Test

• A technique instigated by BBC Technology - to
  insert a bar code into interactive applications
  at the point of transmission is under test.
• AGB Nielsen Media Research have developed a
  reader to identify when a panel home undertakes
  interactive viewing.

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Interactive Test

• 200 panel homes will be installed with the reader
  a range of all digital homes.
• A few broadcasters BBC, ITV, Channel 4,
  Teletext have already inserted the bar code in
  some applications to test the bar coder readers
  ability to identify the code.
• These tests are continuing throughout July. An
  evaluation of the technical ability can then be
  reached.

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Interactive Test

• In parallel to these tests, the reporting
  conventions will be developed
• - identified as an activity to supplement
  live broadcast viewing
• - maintenance of bar code naming conventions
• - bar code numbering management

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Unitam Meters

• New generation of meter from AGB Nielsen Media
  Research
• Content matching technology but still using SI
  codes for DSat
• Greater in-built processing capability to improve
  channel identification
• Easier to install

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Unitam Meters

• Used initially for
• - non-Sky PVR homes
• - Recordable DVD homes
• Roll-out is expected across 600 homes throughout
  2006
• Evaluation of potential to extend to other
  broadcasting reception e.g. On Demand

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VOD/On Demand

• How can this best be captured and reported?
• To what extent is On Demand purely a seven-day
  time-shifted catch-up
• it will have bespoke content e.g. rights issues
• Linear or Contextual advertising?

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VOD/On Demand

• Options
• - assessing metering capability to measure
• - looking at incorporating return path data
  (RPD)
• - taking logged viewing records as
  stand- alone measure

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VOD/On Demand

• Issues
• How to incorporate into daily unified
  measurement system
• If RPD is used then whos watching?
• How can we ensure true representativeness even
  100 census data is unlikely
• None of these issues are theoretically
  insurmountable

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Personal Meter Tests

• Why?
• Can people meters cope with the increasing
  transportability of reception devices?
• Will people meters continue to be as readily
  acceptable in homes?

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Personal Meter Tests

• But people meters are still state of the art
  for television, in-home measurement
• Are likely to continue to be of major
  significance
• But are there complementary devices to plug the
  gap?

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Personal Meter Tests

• Personal meter options encoded signal v. audio
  matching
• Keeping all options open for the future
• Arbitron PPM currently presents best option as
  most advanced, developed personal meter but
  other options are on BARBs horizon
• But concerns surrounding encoding still an issue
• - Broadcaster participation
• - Platform identification
• - Costs

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RAJAR/BARB Initiative

• Purpose
• To test a personal meter beyond just its
  capability to accurately capture
  listening/viewing
• How acceptable is it to respondents especially
  in a panel environment?
• And how well will it report to current BARB
  standards and conventions?

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RAJAR/BARB Initiative

• Intention is to fully test all aspects of a
  personal meter service
• - Fieldwork
• - Compliance
• - Panel Continuity
• - Overnight Reporting
• - Editing Rules
• - Data Production
• - etc etc
• RAJAR committed to two year test 2007/2008
• BARB 50/50 involvement for 2007 with the 2008
  option

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What to Call It

• RAJ
• BRA
• BRA

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Sky Reporting

• Re-introduced in March 2006 following initial
  glitches
• Extensive join development between Sky and AGB
  Nielsen Media Research engineers

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Time Shifted ViewingBackground

• VCR household penetration peaked in 2001 at 87 -
  now at 78 and falling
• Recordable DVDs, PVRs and On-Demand are now the
  future for time shifted viewing
• But hard-disc devices prevent date-stamping

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Time Shift Viewing by Genre

• VCR
• Time Shift
• Drama Series/Serials 4.9
• Documentaries 2.6
• Soaps 2.7
• Films 2.2
• -
• All Programmes 1.6
• -
• Sport 0.8
• Childrens 0.4
• News/Weather 0.1

Source 8 weeks ending 30th April 2006 BBC1,
BBC2, ITV1, C4, Five only
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Time Shift Viewing by Genre

• VCR Sky
• Time Shift Time Shift
• Drama Series/Serials 4.9 30.6
• Documentaries 2.6 25.5
• Soaps 2.7 20.0
• Films 2.2 12.5
• -
• All Programmes 1.6 13.8
• -
• Sport 0.8 6.5
• Childrens 0.4 6.7
• News/Weather 0.1 3.0

Source 8 weeks ending 30th April 2006 BBC1,
BBC2, ITV1, C4, Five only
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Time Shifted Viewing Play Back by Day of Week

• (Time Shift as of Total Consolidated Audience)
• VCR Sky
• Mon-Fri 1.5 14.3
• Sat 1.3 12.0
• Sun 1.4 13.2
• All Week 1.4 13.8
• 8 weeks ending 30th April 2006

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Time Shifted ViewingSky - Early Indicators of
Use of Time Shift

• 14 of all viewing in Sky homes is time shifted
• c.40 takes place on same day as original
  broadcast
• Use of Sky is similar by gender and social grade
• Some age differential
• 16-54 15
• 55 11
• Children 10
• (8 weeks ending 30th April 2006)

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How Does PVR Compare with VCR

• Proportion of Time Shift Viewing
• VCR
• (but no PVR) Sky
• No Time Shift 70 7
• 0-10 26 47
• 10-20 3 18
• 20 1 28
• (8 weeks ending 30th April 2006)

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Time Shifted ViewingSky Early Viewing
Indicators of Use of Time Shift

• Use by individual viewers varies
• 8 time shift half or more of their viewing
• 38 time shift between 10-50
• 47 time shift less than 10
• 7 did not time shift at all!

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How Does PVR Compare with VCR?

• Weekly Hours (individuals)
• VCR
• (but no PVR) Sky
• TOTAL 24.3 21.5
• Live 24.0 18.6
• Time Shift 0.4 (1.6) 2.9 (13.5)
• Sky viewers are lighter viewers than those with
  VCRs but clearly make greater use of the time
  shift funtionality
• (8 weeks ending 30th April 2006)

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When is Sky Time Shift Viewed?

• VOSDAL 41
• (Viewing on Same Day As Live)
• --------------------------------------------------
  -----------------
• Within 1 hour 18
• Between 1 6 hours 18
• Between 6 12 hours 6
• Between 12 24 hours 19
• Between 1 2 days 17
• Between 2 3 days 9
• Between 3 7 days 13

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Time Shift ViewingLevel of Playback Viewing
of Total Viewing Time Shifted

• April 1996 2.9
• April 2001 2.1
• April 2005 1.4
• April 2006 1.9
• The increase in April 2006 is accounted for by
  Sky
• time shifted viewing

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Time Shifted ViewingFuture Trends

• PVRs are the new threat to live viewing
• PVRs are the new challenge to TAM systems!
• PVRs will impact on viewer choice and consumption
  but by how much?

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Time Shifted ViewingConclusions

• The proportion of viewing that is live will
  inevitably decline as we progress into the
  viewer dominated environment
• Time shifted viewing will become increasingly
  essential to maintain the TAM currency
• But accessing content places greater strain on
  our linear reporting

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The Future

• Next BARB contract commences 1st January 2010
• All options open as to shape and form of service
  Statement of Requirements will be issued in
  very near future
• Peoplemeter is likely but not necessarily
  likely to form core metering option
• but we will evaluate the potential for
  introducing a personal meter possible as a
  complementary technique?

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Future Into View Some Salient Points

• Keep and maintain current in-home measure
• Mixed views on out-of-home but if included it
  must be separate from in-home
• Transportable equipment big issue how can truly
  mobile reception be captured?
• And what of the non-linear environment pressure
  to consider concept of programme life cycle

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Consultation Comments

• BARB should not dilute its existing measurement
• Concentrate on in-home, real-time, viewing
• Good to incorporate other media but make sure TV
  measurement doesnt suffer

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The Future

• Important to preserve erm silos
• Experience, skills, knowledge need to be
  dedicated for each media measurement
• No room for complacency but lets not get
  distracted
• Other sources all reliant on our media measure
  or are complementary to them (e.g. Touchpoints)

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The FutureSome Maybes

• Maybe beyond a tipping point
• Maybe differing techniques and sources not
  single, unified measurement is necessary for
  data collection and reporting
• Maybe BARB will require fusion techniques, as
  part of the service?

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Measurement Capability v. Sophistication of
Broadcast Environment
Meter Capability
1981
1986
2006
1991
1996
2001
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Measurement Capability v. Sophistication of
Broadcast Environment
Meter Capability
1981
1986
2006
1991
1996
2001
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Dont panic well continue to develop and
advance the measurement service
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BARB Theres a lot going on
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BARB theres a lot going on!