UAE Television Audience Measurement System officially launched 

(MENAFN - Emirates News Agency (WAM)) Emirates Media Measurement Company (EMMC) has announced that the UAE TV audience measurement system, known as 'tview', was now officially 'live' following confirmation of acceptance by the exernal TAM auditors and consultants Hulks '&' Ruud.

The final part of the setup was to gain approval from independent experts who tested and verified all aspects of the system including panel management, data accuracy and stability and a range of key performance indicators.

Their report concluded that the current panel is sufficiently well balanced on the primary controls and that the TAM system is well organised in terms of panel maintenance and reporting. Thus we recommend that the panel is now accepted as providing a viable currency.

The report was presented to the EMMC Board of Directors meeting In Dubai and Abu Dhabi on October 4 chaired by Director-General of the National Media Council, Ibrahim Al Abed. The Board includes representatives from Abu Dhabi Media, Rotana Media, Etisalat and Sharjah Media.

Welcoming the report, the General Manager of EMMC Christopher O'Hearn said "We have always understood the need for full transparency, and the endorsement of external auditors is a key milestone for the system. We have an ongoing commitment to adopt the best technical advice and will continue to subject the system to annual external audits which will be published openly and implemented by us." The people-meter system has been running in trial stages since December 2011 following a setup period.

A number of clients have already installed the system and have been using the data on a test basis.

Subscribers receive daily audience data which can be analysed and reported in a powerful software tool. In addition the system provides daily logs of programs and advertising spots on nearly 60 of the most popular channels in the region.

"Our early users have found tview offers them an unprecedented and extremely valuable insight. Of course it is not yet perfect and we will continue to refine and improve it in cooperation with the industry. This is a huge leap which will help the media market grow, enable advertisers to reach their audiences and ultimately mean better choice and content for viewers." said O'Hearn.

The 'tview' is designed to advance the TV media industry by generating transparent, accountable and reliable ratings that will be used as a currency of trade.

This viewing research data will enable broadcasters, media agencies and advertisers to improve TV programming, scheduling and advertising.

tview's unique proposition is that it provides minute-by-minute viewing data delivered the following day. The data includes additional demographic information such as nationality, gender, location, age and socio-economic status for viewers aged 4 and above, although all data is reported anonymously and individuals are not identified.

EMMC is a joint venture of leading broadcast entities, Abu Dhabi Media, Sharjah Media, Rotana Media, and Etisalat, and is also supported by DU.

The project was the result of a Federal Cabinet initiative and has been led by the National Media Council and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

It has been underway since January 2010 and was endorsed by the Ministerial Council for Services in March 2010, with the first steps being large scale surveys and the setup of the sample panel representing the UAE population. 850 homes have been chosen to take part and become the tview panel and have the people meter boxes installed in their homes and connected to the television screens.

In addition to the data provided in full to subscribers, EMMC will make extracts of the tview ratings information publicly available on its website and will distribute summaries to trade and press.