Abstract:

There are currently 21 peoplemeter panels operating in 18 countries in Europe. At a European industry level, a great deal of work has been done on the subject of harmonization of television research. The new comprehensive survey from EAAA was conducted over a period of 18 months by Dr. Toby Syfret, media research advisor to the EAAA. The report is invaluable in identifying opportunities to reduce variability and increase the unity between systems. From an advertiser’s point of view, some of the variations that were shown in the report appear significant. At a very basic level, a multi-national advertiser needs to know if a GRP in one country is the same as a GRP in another. Concentrating on the methodological variations in the calculation and reporting of GRPs, Carat identified three areas for investigation: operational definitions, the components of a commercial rating (eg. guest viewing) and the definitions of reporting categories. In order to evaluate their effects, Carat commissioned RSMB to re-calculate the ratings for a selection of UK schedules using the respondent level data from the BARB panel. This simulation demonstrates that the conventions adopted in some countries can lead to large variations in reported commercial impacts.