Indiantelevision.com Team

(28 October 2006 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: China based CSM Media Research has announced its plans to upgrade Chongqing, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces using the latest peoplemeter technology. The company is targeting mid 2007 to achieve its upgradation plan.

According to an official statement, the company is also looking at adding 13 more new cities as part of this plan.

This would be a switch over from diary panels to peoplemeter with four cities available in the next two months and the remaining by mid 2007.

CSM is a joint venture between, CTR Market Research and TNS Group, in media research and TV audience measurement. CSM is dedicated to TV and radio audience measurement research, offering rating information for Hong Kong and China.

CSM has also announced that following a 10 month evaluation, Guangdong South Media Corporation (SMC) has awarded them a five year contract as its exclusive TV and Radio ratings service provider for the region from 2006 to 2010.

CSM Media Research MD Paul Wang said, "Our strategy has always been to reflect audience viewing behaviors and it is due to China's digital TV development that we are upgrading diary panels to peoplemeter. It is this understanding of the market that enables us to gain the recognition required to win contracts such as this latest one in Guangdong."

Over the past years CSM and TNS have committed to implementing the latest in audience measurement technologies and invested in comprehensive yearly panel expansions. However, whilst both CSM and TNS have evolved their TAM measurement offering in line with market demand, the regionwide shift in the TV industry from analogue to digital broadcasting now requires a different approach, says the statement.

"Peoplemeters certainly still have their place, but the number of channels available via new digital cable and satellite systems and their interactive capabilities, not to mention IPTV, requires a dramatic change in audience measurement," said TNS regional director iTRAM Phillip Jones. (Read iTram stands for internet, television and radio audience measurement)

He added, "Asia has not been as quick to convert to digital as Western Europe, the UK and North America and as a result, this is an area that many researchers in the region are only testing their measurement systems.

TNS is already geared up to meet this challenge thanks to our experience in providing both out-of-home and return path data measurement service in these markets. These services will prove invaluable to advertisers along side the current traditional measurement metrics."