Abstract:

The paper is in four sections. It looks first at the television changes occurring and makes some predictions for the nineties. Then the existing tools for television audience measurement and appreciation are reviewed. In the third section the likely future research needs of advertisers, broadcasters and subscription channels are assessed. Finally the author's priorities for technique development are listed - and a picture is drawn of "how television research should look in the nineties". The author believes that the major new breakthroughs must be in passive sensing; in the development of portable, easy to instal meters; in collecting single source data and in evaluating panel control systems. All in all the new electronic and computing technologies offer major opportunities to provide the research data that the future television industry will need.