TV audience measurement is about to undergo an important change. The Association of Television Organisations (ATO) has decided to launch a new project to expand the existing measurement of TV viewership. After many years, this paves the way for more comprehensive data, not just from households but from viewing TV content in other places. This is a strategic decision to take the Czech measurement system to the next level.
The fact that the ATO has decided to build its own, exclusive panel, independent of commercially available online panels, plays a crucial role. The aim is to control the quality and methodology of the research. The supplier of the out-of-home measurement will be ResSolution Group, the research agency for whom this is a significant expansion of their media research activities.
Michal Jordan, the ATO’s managing director, admits in an interview that the ATO’s demands are high. “We don’t want research agencies to use panels that they have already built for other projects or that they would use for their commercial projects after they have finished working with us,” he says.
Tomáš Hynčica, Director of the ResSolution Group, admits that the project is methodologically challenging and that the agency had to take a number of steps to succeed in the tender, including international audits. “Very few research projects are so complex in terms of methodology, and there are not many agencies that could implement something like this,” he says.
You can read more about the new measurement, the availability and form of the new data, as well as other plans of the ATO and ResSolution Group in the interview below.
Why is the ATO embarking on out-of-home viewership measurement, and what does it hope to get out of it?
Michal Jordan: We decided to go for it because we want to add a new dimension to existing TV viewership measurement. We will gain insight into a missing link in the viewing behaviour of the Czech population in previously unmeasured locations. We prefer to talk about “mobile measurement” rather than “out-of-home viewing”. We see it as an extension component of the overall system that the ATO wants to develop in the future. While the existing panel measures TV households, this new approach targets individuals (15+). We believe that by introducing new technology into the system, we will gradually move towards measurement based on multiple data sources.
Tomáš Hynčica: We would like the new project to be called ReDAM, ResSolution DCore Audience Measurement. We developed it in cooperation with our partner company DCore Software. The technology was tailored to the ATO’s requirements and meets international standards for data collection and analysis. The technology has been tested by the international audit company CESP, and the project methodology was consulted with UK-based Pure X Media.
What was key in selecting the agency to deliver the measurements for ATO?
Michal Jordan: The goal was to find a partner that would allow us to build our own measurement and a panel as transparent as the TV one. We could have chosen a less exclusive solution, but it is crucial for ATO to have consistent data that is generated based on market requirements, without methodological compromise. Partner flexibility and transparency of methodology are also important to us.
Winning the tender is a significant milestone for ResSolution. Have you already started building the panel that will be used for mobile measurement purposes?
Tomáš Hynčica: We have only started building the panel these weeks. However, we have been in discussions with the ATO for more than a year, which is when we actually began thinking about the form of the project. Especially in the last few months, the work has been very intensive. We have been fine-tuning the methodology, preparing for different options, and auditing the technology. At ResSolution, we have dedicated a team to the project, and we will deliver the first version of the 600-respondent panel at the beginning of August.
Who is working on the project? Are you hiring new people, or are you drawing on the experience of people who have been through Nielsen? ResSolution Group is close to Nielsen (formerly known as Nielsen Admosphere and before that Mediaresearch), which has been involved in TV viewership measurement in the Czech Republic for over twenty years.
Tomáš Hynčica: I founded ResSolution Group more than four years ago. We currently employ, not counting interviewers, almost 50 people. Many of them have many years of experience in media research, which they gained, among other things, at Mediaresearch. I am very happy that we can rely on a really good team at ReDAM. In addition, ResSolution has been supplying ATO’s TV project with continuous research for years. It maps TV household trends over the long term and serves as the backbone for the main TV viewership measurement panel. We are also working on the Radioproject and have sufficient in-house media measurement experience. Being familiar with Nielsen is an advantage, and our solution is well compatible with their system.
We could have chosen a less exclusive solution, but it is crucial for the ATO to have consistent data that is generated based on market requirements, without methodological compromise.
Michal Jordan
The resulting panel should have 1,200 members, or a daily size of at least 1,000 members. By when should it be built?
Michal Jordan: We plan to have a panel of 1,000 respondents by January 2026. The data will not be published separately but will be fused with the current data. The fusion methodology will be developed and delivered by Nielsen, and we are pleased that our business partner is participating in the project in this way. This approach will maintain continuity and compatibility with the original project. Important to us is the ownership of the data and the way the panel is recruited, which uses the same selection frameworks as for the TV panel.
When will the first data be available?
Michal Jordan: The ideal scenario anticipates that the data will be available from 1 January 2026. But it depends on a lot of details and how the tuning of the data fusion will progress. Technically, there should be a delay of hours for daily delivery - while data is now available in the morning (around 8:00 am), the combined TV and mobile data should be available in the afternoon of the same day. However, it is now premature to announce any date for when the data will first appear.
But subscribers will only see one figure for the viewership of a selected show in the software in which they work with the data...
Michal Jordan: Yes, the goal is to have one linked data in the user software.
So the fused data will be available the afternoon of the day after the broadcast. Does that mean that in the morning, subscribers will have classic data for TV viewership in the home and in the afternoon, combined data for TV and viewership outside the home?
Michal Jordan: We assume that only the fused data will be delivered.
The combined TV and mobile data should be available in the afternoon of the same day.
Michal Jordan
Do you have any idea what impact mobile measurement will have on overall viewership? Compared to the current situation, the inclusion of additional locations should increase viewership. Do you have any pilot research from which to predict the impact on ratings?
Tomáš Hynčica: We have conducted a number of microtests and technology validations, but we have not run any large pilots because the technology is still evolving. So, we can’t estimate it yet.
Michal Jordan: We can make a rough estimate based on international experience and also according to a model developed for us by Median, but we are very cautious with our predictions. For example, in Poland, mobile measurement led to a 10–12% increase in viewership. I wouldn’t expect such a high increase in the Czech Republic; I would be much more cautious, partly because our project is different and, for instance, aims to determine whether the viewer watched the content on a small or large TV screen.
How exactly does data fusion work?
Michal Jordan: This question would be best answered by Nielsen, but from a user perspective and extremely simplified: the new mobile measurement will replace the so-called guests in the existing panel.
If we imagine a specific situation where a respondent is watching, for example, the next episode of StarDance at home on their mobile phone, is it included in the TV measurement or the ReDAM measurement?
Michal Jordan: The simple answer is that if such viewership is measured by mobile measurement, it does not enter into data fusion because it is viewership at home. But the answer could be more complex; I could also talk about the different components of current TV measurement here, because we have not only a TV panel but also census measurement of digital video platforms, but this seems to be beyond the scope of this conversation. The important thing is that we will do everything we can to ensure that TV viewership results do not contain unwanted duplications.
However, when TV is watched at the cottage, it is covered by the ReDAM measurement.
Tomáš Hynčica: Absolutely. The measurement works on the principle of audio matching, where the mobile app detects ambient sound and then compares its fingerprint with the TV broadcast database. The geolocation module then determines whether the person is at home or away from home. If he or she is further than a set distance from his or her main address, he or she is included in the out-of-home viewership.
Public viewing, such as hockey in the town square, is similarly subsumed.
Michal Jordan: The project captures that too. But we want to have clear definitions - whether it’s public viewing, screen size and so on.
Tomáš Hynčica: For example, differentiating screen size has been a challenge. We had to create our model solution that determines whether it is a small or large screen. But to be precise, this methodological part is still awaiting official approval from ATO.
We will do everything we can to ensure that the TV viewership results do not contain unwanted duplications.
Michal Jordan
How exactly does ReDAM measurement technology work?
Tomáš Hynčica: The measurement is based on a professionally selected panel, which we recruit according to clearly defined rules using face-to-face interviews and CATI. Each panelist is equipped with a measuring application developed by DCoru, which is easily installed on their mobile phone, or if the respondent prefers, we offer them a new phone as part of their participation in the project. The collected anonymised data is then checked, cleaned, and prepared for loading into the relevant software during the production process.
Michal Jordan: The application only has access to data that is necessary for measuring television viewing elsewhere than in the primary households. It is about the microphone, location tracking and turning off battery optimisation if necessary. No microphone data that could lead to a violation of the respondent’s privacy is transmitted by the technology solution. We do not require access to applications such as YouTube or Facebook. The project has a clear focus, namely, to measure TV video content outside the main household.
Is the contract exhaustive in terms of which TV stations are part of the measurement outside the home?
Michal Jordan: Yes. The list of stations to be measured is identical to the TV project setup. We will see whether we will expand the project over time. We are currently building this component exclusively for TV measurement.
Tomáš Hynčica: Our technology is flexible, and if we get an order to measure other audio stations, we can do that too. For us, media measurement is another pillar. We see the potential for the future both in the possible measurement of other media types and in international expansion.
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get respondents for any kind of research. How much of a problem is it to recruit people to the panel?
Tomáš Hynčica: Recruitment is one of the most challenging parts of the whole project. We are building the panel through computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) and face-to-face interviews in households. The sample selection is basically the same as for the peoplemeter TV project. The willingness of respondents is not a given, so we fine-tune the details of how to make the visits and reach as efficient as possible every day. Interviewers are sent to specific addresses in the field according to a predetermined key. Few surveys are as methodologically complex as this one, and there are not many agencies that can carry out something like this.
Michal Jordan: We deliberately tightened the conditions for recruiting the panel considerably. For example, we have stipulated in the contract that the panel must not be recruited from existing online panels. Of course, it can happen by chance that someone gets selected, but we don’t want agencies to use panels that they have already built for their other projects or that they would use for their commercial projects after they have finished working with us. Our priority is our own exclusive panel, built with the same consistency as a household panel for TV metering.
Do respondents have any incentive to participate in the panel?
Tomáš Hynčica: They are primarily motivated financially. If they are interested, they can choose a mobile phone instead of a financial reward. In practice, however, we expect that the vast majority will choose money.
We do not require access to applications like YouTube or Facebook. The project has a clear focus, namely, to measure TV video content outside the main household.
Michal Jordan
Was there a consensus among the ATO members on the selection of the project contractor?
Michal Jordan: The ATO is quite a complex organisation, so I cannot comment on this in detail. However, there is a general consensus within the ATO that the project should be expanded and that additional data sources should be involved. We must strive to be successful in the evolution of the project in other areas.
What is the cost of the project?
Michal Jordan: I have already indicated that we primarily wanted a quality project. However, we cannot disclose the exact amount.
The contract is for a five-year period. What happens after that?
Michal Jordan: The contract is for five years, and the ATO has the option to terminate it after two years under certain conditions. At the same time, the cooperation can be extended after five years. I would add that the mobile metering project starts at a time that does not coincide with the peoplemeter measurement cycle. That ends at the end of 2027. This, of course, complicates the current arrangement a little bit, but I said in a previous conversation that the ATO cannot operate only in five-year cycles, that development will not wait for us.
Is it possible to expand the mobile metering project further?
Tomáš Hynčica: Yes, the project is open for further development. It is possible to involve other media, connect it with other data sources, or go more in-depth. There are many possibilities, but the key decisions are now in the hands of the ATO.
Michal Jordan: If the project gets off the ground successfully, we will address its future direction. It may continue in its current form, but equally, the panel may expand, change or adapt to new market requirements. The fact that we have these two projects that we can combine can be a strategic advantage. We see the future of measurement in a combination of different data sources, ideally within a single software that does not slow down data production so much that it disrupts normal market practices.
We see the future of measurement in a combination of different data sources, ideally within a single software that does not slow down data production so much that it disrupts normal market practices.
Michal Jordan
Source: mediaguru.cz