Mediapulse and Kantar Media present new panel

Kantar Media Switzerland is currently building a new panel from scratch with new panel households and, of course, new hardware and software. After IGEM presented the new advertising tool at an event on June 21, Mediapulse and Kantar Media Switzerland now presented the new panel at an insider lunch.

After 27 years of Telecontrol, TV usage will be surveyed exclusively in newly recruited households with new equipment by Kantar Media Switzerland from 2013. The number of households will remain the same as before at 1870, but the results will be significantly more representative than before. This writes the IGEM in a statement on Friday. This is due on the one hand to the better recorded universe and on the other hand to a new technology for usage measurement.

The new universe

Whereas previously only usage via conventional TV sets in households with a telephone connection was measured, all households in the Swiss Post address directory now form the basis. This means that the 18 percent of households that have no telephone connection or no registered telephone connection are also included. From 2013, TV usage via PC or laptop will also be measured in the new panel households. Time-shifted use will now also be measured. This usage will be included if it occurs within 7 days of the first broadcast.

The new technology

To record usage via PC and laptop, software is installed on all corresponding devices in a panel household. If a household has fast Internet access, this is a prerequisite for it to be included in the panel at all. However, iPhones and iPads, which are very widespread in Switzerland, cannot be integrated. This is because Apple does not allow apps that "listen". A solution will therefore be examined from 2013 as to whether the corresponding technology could be built directly into the apps of the providers (for example Zatto, Wilmaa, Teleboy, SRF).

On classic TV sets, digital reception could previously only be measured if it was via a set-top box connected via a Scart or HDMI cable. In the meantime, however, digital reception is increasingly taking place via TV sets with integrated receivers. The new panel now relies on audio matching, already known from radio research, which is completely independent of distribution technologies.

The effort required for this new technology should not be underestimated. In order to be able to compare the audio signal recorded in households with that of the programs broadcast, no fewer than 400 stations have to be recorded acoustically at a total of seven locations in Switzerland. Nevertheless, at 10.8 million Swiss francs per year, the total cost of the panel is only eight percent higher than before.

Managing Director of the new measurement company Kantar Media Switzerland, Matthias Hartl, is convinced that data can be delivered from January 1, 2013. More than 40 people have already been working for the new company since the beginning of October.

(Matthias Hartl, Managing Director of Kantar Media Switzerland)