TELEVISION AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT IS PASSING INTO CZECH HANDS, WITH ATO AND ADMOSPHERE COLLECTIVE TAKING OVER

Nielsen Admosphere is changing hands and, following the Nielsen Group’s withdrawal from the Czech market, is passing into Czech ownership. The Association of Television Organisations initially acquired a 100 per cent stake in the company; the Admosphere Collective group will subsequently acquire a majority stake. The project to measure television viewing figures and digital video is set to continue unchanged.

The Association of Television Organisations (ATO) is acquiring a 100 per cent stake in Nielsen Admosphere from its Dutch owner, AGB Nielsen Media Research B.V. In a subsequent step, Admosphere Collective will acquire a 66 per cent stake in the company, which will be renamed Admosphere. ATO will retain a 34 per cent stake. The transaction is intended to ensure the continuity of television audience measurement and to create the conditions for the further development of television and digital video measurement on the Czech market. The ATO stated this in an official press release.

The acquisition is the result of long-term negotiations between the ATO and the multinational Nielsen Group. Admosphere Collective will thus become the main partner for the next phase of development of the television and digital video measurement project (PCEM). The project is intended to build on the existing operations and long-term development of measurement, which will continue unchanged.

Admosphere Collective is a consortium of Czech companies operating in the fields of media research, data analytics and technology services. The group comprises Admosphere Time (owned by Tereza Šimečková), ResSolution Group (the current provider of out-of-home audience measurement) and Visentio (a developer of data analysis software), as well as other experts involved in research and technology projects within the Czech media market. As part of the changes within the company, Tereza Šimečková and Tomáš Hynčica (ResSolution Group) have also been appointed to the management team alongside Petr Matyáštík (previously of Nielsen Admosphere).

According to ATO, the aim was to find a solution that would maintain the current operation of television audience measurement whilst enabling its further development within the local environment. The projects will continue to be managed by the existing Czech team. “It was important for us to find a solution that preserves what has been working on the Czech market for a long time and is also unique on a European scale. The new arrangement provides continuity for broadcasters, agencies and clients, whilst also giving us a solid foundation for the further development of audience measurement in the coming years,” said ATO Managing Director Michal Jordan.

ATO has also declared its intention to gradually develop audience measurement towards greater technological openness. In future, it intends to transition to a modular model that will allow solutions from multiple suppliers to be integrated and will not be dependent on a single technological platform. “Continuity is fundamental for us. The current system works, and there is no reason to change things simply because the company’s ownership structure is changing. At the same time, however, the way people watch television and video is changing rapidly, and audience measurement must be able to adapt to this. We therefore want to retain the best aspects of the current solution whilst having greater scope to integrate new technologies in line with what the market actually needs,” added Jordan.

The acquisition was financed in the first phase by ATO through loans from its members, which are TV Nova, FTV Prima, Seznam.cz TV and the media agency Atmedia. These liabilities will be settled as part of the second phase of the transaction following the entry of Admosphere Collective.

Statements from ATO member organisations regarding the transaction

Daniel Grunt, Managing Director and CEO of TV Nova

“I am pleased that, following Nielsen’s departure from the Czech market, we have managed to find a stable solution that will ensure reliable, accurate and trustworthy measurement of video content viewership, whilst maintaining continuity in measurement. This is one of the fundamental prerequisites for a healthy television market and a common point of reference for broadcasters, agencies and advertisers alike. At the same time, it is important to continuously develop the measurement system so that it keeps pace with new technologies and ways of watching television video content, which the new ownership structure will enable.”

Lukáš Kubát, Chief Executive of the Prima Group

“It is crucial for the Czech television market that we have succeeded in ensuring the continuity and independence of video content audience measurement. The new ownership structure supports further development towards total video measurement, which will meet the needs of the Czech media market. I would like to thank ATO for overseeing the entire process and bringing it to a conclusion that creates a stable framework for the operation and development of video content measurement in the Czech Republic.”

Ivan Mikula, Director of Seznam TV and Radio

“Nielsen’s departure posed a major challenge for the television market, primarily in terms of the further development of television measurement. Thanks to ATO and its professional handling of the entire process, we have managed not only to maintain the long-term continuity of independent television measurement, but above all to ensure its potential for further development towards cross-platform audience measurement. Given current trends in video content consumption, this is an absolutely crucial step. Furthermore, the new solution will enable us to respond very flexibly to any future technological challenges in the field of video content measurement.”

Michaela Suráková, Managing Director, Atmedia Czech

“I have long regarded cross-platform TV audience measurement as a reliable and trustworthy source of data for the entire television market. I am convinced that the new structure will maintain its high quality whilst opening up scope for further development. For thematic TV channels, the ability to expand data sources – for example, to include RPD data – is crucial, as this can contribute to more accurate measurement of viewership and performance for smaller channels.”

Petr Chajda, Chair of the Media Agencies Association Committee

“We are pleased that the members of the ATO and its staff have managed to deal professionally with the difficult challenge posed by developments in global markets. Television broadcasters, agencies and, through them, advertisers are being provided with a solution that will ensure video content measurement on the Czech market remains of high quality, objective and independent, whilst guaranteeing market stability. At the same time, the new structure ensures great potential for the development of measurement and its openness. And all this is thanks to the cooperation of companies that have in-depth knowledge of the market and understand its needs, particularly the expectations of advertisers.”

Source: mediaguru.cz