Group Formed to Create Consistent Set-Top TV Data

Cable, satellite, telcos join MRC in new coalition

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/10/2010 11:20:24 AM

Cable, satellite and telco multichannel video distributors have formed a broad coalition to create guidelines putting television viewing data from set-top boxes into a consistent, accurate and usable form.

The group, working with NCC Media, which sells local commercials for the operators, will be working with the Media Ratings Council to develop industry guidelines so that the data will be the same from operator to operator, making it more useful and valuable.

As television has become digital and viewing has scatters to devices ranging from computer screens to cell phones, old forms of measurement have had difficulty keeping up.

Data from the millions of set-top boxes promises to provide more accurate and granular information about TV viewing.

But getting the data into the hands of research companies, media outlets and media buyers has been slowed because the individual distributors who own it have business and legal issues to deal with.

Operators believe the data is valuable and want to make sure they're being compensated for it. They are also legally required to keep customer data private and must make sure appropriate safeguards are in place before any data is released.

NCC Chief Operating Officer Ken Little acknowledged that there are many different efforts out now trying to find ways to use set-top data, including Canoe Ventures, set up by the major cable companies.

"They're all good undertakings, but none include the players with the core data," Little said.

Little said there were 14 operators in the coalition. He said names were not being released at this point, but that it included many of the industry's leaders.

He added that the group was formed strictly to set guidelines and that were no plans for the group to create a business.

Other parties, including research companies such as the Nielsen Co., media owners and media buyers will be invited to participate in the guideline setting process, the group said.

"The MRC is pleased to participate with NCC Media and the MVPDs on this initiative particularly because it will set the foundation for incorporating digital video viewership data into the industry's toolset for audience measurement," said George Ivie, executive director and CEO of the MRC. "This will enable the responsible leveraging of this valuable, granular data by our industry."

Also announcing an attempt at a new way of looking at audience research Tuesday was the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement.

CIMM said it would be bringing a single-source cross-media measurement initiative used in the United Kingdom known as "TouchPoints" to the U.S.

"We scoured the globe to find the most consumer-centric cross-platform approaches before identifying and initiating a thorough consultant-led study of U.K. Touchpoints," explained Clarke. "It is by far the most comprehensive and provides the best way to link cross-media measurement and understand media usage in the context of daily life activities. We're delighted to be partnering with MBI to bring this innovative measurement tool to the US Media industry."

The project, spearheaded by the Media Behavior Institute, will include a sample of 1000 men and women ages 18-54 drawn from respondents who have completed GfK MRI's widely used "Survey of the American Consumer," and will employ eDiaries in which participants will record their media behavior at 30 minute intervals over 10 days. That data will be fused with existing media measurement services. This "hub and fusion" approach to cross-platform media measurement provides a time-based way of understanding consumers' media behavior.

The final database will, for the first time in the U.S., allow media planners, buyers and sellers a look into the full picture of how respondents use all types of media and how to measure unduplicated reach across all media, according to CIMM.

The study will run from September 2010 to February 2011. CIMM members will have exclusive, unlimited access to the Hub Database & the Integrated Channel Planning Tool for six months.