Set-Top Box Data Gets Personal

TV technology firm NDS and TNS Media Research have enhanced their joint TV audience measurement offering by adding the ability to identify individual viewers in homes signed up to participate in a measurement panel.

The RPD individual (RPDi) solution associates pay-TV set-top-box (STB), return path data (RPD) with individuals in a household.

Last week, the pair announced a deal to track and analyze audience behaviour across pay-TV operator Foxtel's network, through a combination of NDS' Dynamic Audience Measurement System and TNS's RaPiDView service.

Their new solution prompts viewers to identify themselves by their first name using their remote control, and allows users to add any additional guests watching TV alongside them. It only measures audience viewing in those homes that have agreed to participate through an opt-in process.

'RPD is becoming a standard tool among TV operators in developed markets for driving strategic decisions related to their business,' states Nick Burfitt, Global Head of RPD at TNS Media Research. 'Enriching this tool with individual viewing data adds key information on audience demographics and composition. RPDi is a cost-effective way to bring this functionality to the STB.'

Web sites: www.nds.com and www.tnsglobal.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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