MRC Joins Drive for Consistent STB Measurement

In the US, the Media Rating Council (MRC), marketing agency NCC Media and a group of cable, satellite and subscription TV providers are planning to develop guidelines for using set-top-box (STB) data to measure TV audiences.

The MRC has worked with the industry to validate measurement practices for analog TV data for almost 50 years.

The objective of this new initiative is to ensure consistency of data across MVPDs (multi-channel video programming distributors) - which focus on elements of the data, rather than derived audience metrics.

Earlier in the year, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) introduced the Set-Top-Box Lexicon, a common set of more than 800 terms of use for analyzing and processing STB measurement; and announced that STB measurement was one of its priorities for investigation.

MRC's coalition is now working to develop best practices surrounding terms, definitions and calculations for accumulating digital viewership data; and these guidelines will include specific recommendations for data processing procedures covering data capture, editing and reporting.

They will also provide guidance for privacy and security safeguards, as well as appropriate consumer notice and communications.

Once the guidelines are drafted, the MRC will seek input from the broader media industry - including programmers, content providers, advertisers and their agencies, media researchers and consumer representatives.

George Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC says the initiative will 'set the foundation for incorporating digital video viewership data into the industry's toolset for audience measurement' and 'enable the responsible leveraging of this valuable, granular data by our industry.'

Anyone interested in participating in the guideline setting process, should contact the MRC at staff@mediaratingcouncil.org.

Web site: www.mediaratingcouncil.org .