Media Asset Capitals Jeremy Bancroft explains why the current model of measuring TV audiences is all wrong
By Contributor
Published: September 23, 2020
Media Asset Capital's Jeremy Bancroft explains why the current model of measuring TV audiences is all wrong
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Media Asset Capital's Jeremy Bancroft explains why the current model of measuring TV audiences is all wrong
https://www.tvbeurope.com/media-consumption/can-we-really-rely-on-tv-ratings title=Share via Email class=share-email>
The coronavirus pandemic has led to people watching more TV than ever. Content consumption has substantially increased, and many TV channels have recorded some of their best ratings in years.
The TV industry relies upon ratings. These ratings tell the channels and their advertisers which shows are most popular, and which times of the day capture the largest audiences.
Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, ITV Hub and BBC iPlayer have only recently been added to ratings listings, but each of the operators can measure viewing of content on their own streaming platform. Some, however, are reluctant to release this data.
Traditional TV viewing figures are produced by specialist ratings agencies, including BARB, Nielsen, and Kantar. For free to air satellite and terrestrial TV, the number of viewers for each channel at different times is measured using selected panels of viewers, and everything that the viewers watch is logged.
Unfortunately, these panels represent a very small sample of the viewing public.
For example, in the UK, BARB collects and distributes TV ratings. There are about 5200 BARB-monitored households from a total of around 27 million TV-equipped homes.
In the US, Nielsen is the most widely used ratings agency. There are about 27,000 Nielsen-monitored households from around 120 million TV-equipped homes.
This means that the ratings used by over the air TV channels, programme makers and advertisers are based upon a sample size of approximately 0.02 per cent.
The TV industry makes decisions about which programmes to commission, continue or drop based upon these ratings. How much advertisers pay for particular spots is also based on these ratings. With only one in every 5,000 homes being sampled, there is much criticism within the industry about the accuracy of this data, especially given the financial implications of such potentially misleading information.
Subscription platforms (such as Sky) can measure their own viewing figures with greater accuracy by interrogating their own branded set top boxes. In the UK, Sky collects data from about 500,000 set top boxes, which is approximately 4 per cent of their total subscribers. Unfortunately, this method is not available to non-subscription platforms.
In the US, Nielsen has started providing ratings for popular streaming platforms. Netflix has responded to these ratings based on viewing panels in a statement: The data that Nielsen is reporting is not accurate, not even close, and does not reflect the viewing of these shows on Netflix
As Netflix can measure every single time that their content is streamed to a subscriber (a sample size of 100 per cent), they can be confident in their own conclusions.
Some TV set manufacturers have built software into their devices that detects what their viewers are watching so that they can provide data to third parties. American TV set maker Vizio did exactly this, but ended up losing a $17 million class-action lawsuit for allegedly spying on their customers' viewing habits, violating privacy and consumer-protection laws'.
Within the EU, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) covers information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. Essentially, if you can know who the person is, then you must obtain their explicit approval to collect, store and forward (or sell on) their data. Breaching GDPR regulations can be very expensive for a business, with a maximum fine of 20 million, or 4 per cent of annual global turnover for offenders.
Recently, a small UK company called TVA Group developed and patented a solution that collects large-scale live TV viewership data without infringing GDPR and consumer-protection laws.
Almost any Smart TV that is connected to the internet can utilise some of the interactive capabilities of today's digital TV transmission standards to tell TVA whether it is tuned to specific channels.
By collecting this data and processing it to identify regionalities, TVA is producing real-time dashboards and historic reports that show, very accurately, what is being watched, where, and to a precision measured in seconds. This can be associated with specific programmes or commercials on individual channels.
In order to comply with GDPR, the TVA solution cannot identify what was showing on any given TV set, but can tell you how many sets in a given geographical area were tuned in to a specific channel at a precise time.
This can detect how many people saw a particular programme or commercial or, for example, whether the moving of live sports coverage between channels to avoid a clash with the news resulted in a loss of viewers. Traditional panel-based ratings collection can only report this type of data many hours or days later, and as we have seen, with dubious accuracy.
Online TV viewing is clearly gaining in popularity, and data from a channel's streaming platforms can also be incorporated into TVA's data analytics and reporting engines to provide an even broader view of total viewership.
Despite their small size, this UK company is successfully producing accurate live TV ratings for over 50 clients in an industry that has been poorly served by the established providers.
No single solution can measure the entire range of ways in wh
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
02/10/2026
v1.9.3 introduces AUv3 support
Roland have just released an update that kits their free iPad-based software synth out with AUv3 support, meaning it can now ...
02/10/2026
Dolby Atmos support, AI-powered stem separation & more
The latest version of MOTU's DAW software is now available, and marks a major step forward with t...
02/10/2026
Portable DAC created in collaboration with Steve Levine
British hi-fi experts iFi audio have unveiled a new Master Tuned variant of their praised iDSD GR2 p...
02/10/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson looks at streaming piracy from a different lens, focusing on digital trust, consumer risk, and the future of subscriber protecti...
02/10/2026
Featuring performances recorded in Cork, Kilkenny, Wesmeath and Dublin culminati...
02/10/2026
Friday 2 October 2026
Crystal Lake, a Friday the 13th' prequel series, com...
02/10/2026
Friday 2 October 2026
Sky VIP helps families celebrate the Christmas season wit...
02/10/2026
How the fertility sector in Ireland remains unregulated
Undercover filming reveals how without proper regulation the promotion of controversial fertility treat...
02/10/2026
Transforming Homes, Transforming Lives
Presenter Baz Ashmawy and his team take on four life-changing builds across Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow and Offaly in the...
01/10/2026
Third collaboration with celebrated composer
Spitfire Audio have once again teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer, producer and technologist BT, creating...
01/10/2026
FL Studio gets dedicated grid controller
Novation have teamed up with FL Studio developers Image-Line to create another dedicated controller for the popular...
01/10/2026
Six new USB interfaces introduced
Universal Audio's USB audio interface line-up has just been refreshed, gaining six new models aimed at musicians, prod...
01/10/2026
Siretta's SNYPER-5G cellular network analyser has been shortlisted for the IoT Global Awards 2026.
The IoT Global Awards recognise products, services and o...
01/10/2026
Mesh Broadcast Services Fits Big-Truck Audio Power into Compact Eclipse Unit with Calrec Argo M Canadian OB company Mesh Broadcast Services has fitted its Eclip...
01/10/2026
X-Rite Pantone Launches Spectura to Advance Connected Color Quality from Lab to ...
01/10/2026
Thursday 1 October 2026
Nominees revealed for 2026 Sky Arts Awards
Current slide, 0 0, undefined1
0
Irish National Opera and Jennifer Walshe: MARS
Jacob Al...
01/10/2026
Vital TV antenna replaced at SudburyHelicopter and broadcast engineers work together to upgrade TV services for 1.5M in the East
--
Share to Linkedin
Octobe...
01/10/2026
Arqiva appoints Simon Duffy as ChairSimon Duffy joins as Chair effective 01 October 2026
--
Share to Linkedin
October 1, 2026
Press Office
01 October 2026...
01/10/2026
Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...
01/10/2026
New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen
RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...
01/10/2026
RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...
30/09/2026
Add an envelope generator to any plug-in
Sync Audio's latest creation is a handy utility plug-in that can be used to combine and modulate other effects ...
30/09/2026
All-analogue tape-style drive joins Series A
Strymon's reputation was built on their digital knowhow, so many were surprised (and intrigued) when they a...
30/09/2026
Two new expansion packs released
Sonuscore have just introduced two new expansion packs for The Pulse, its production engine instrument for modern cinematic...
30/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/09/2026
New Solution Expands Harmonic's Network Intelligence Portfolio and Brings Comcast-Developed Fiber Monitoring Technology to Broadband Operators, Providing Re...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN, OR AT ANY ADDRESS IN, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITO...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI
Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...
28/09/2026
New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup
Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...
28/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...
28/09/2026
Monday 28 September 2026
Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes
Sky has launched a new Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps product, rolling out from today, gi...
28/09/2026
Arvato Systems Highlights It's Role for Automotive Manufacturers and Suppliers
TISAX
Arvato Systems has successfully completed the TISAX Level 3 assess...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
27/09/2026
New compact pedal packs in 120 effects
The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...
26/09/2026
Launched alongside three new expansion packs
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...
25/09/2026
Algorithm update & new DVA vibrato-detection engine
A new flagship version of Antares' iconic pitch-correction software has arrived, and along with a co...
25/09/2026
New flagship unit to arrive in early 2027
Two notes Audio Engineering have revealed that a new and improved version of their hugely popular reactive load bo...
Media Asset Capitals Jeremy Bancroft explains why the current model of measuring TV audiences is all wrong
