In a week of uncertainty for researchers at the BBC, its Audience & Consumer Research unit has signed a 3-year contract with GfK which it describes as 'the start of a new relationship' between the two. The deal aims to improve and speed up the system for measuring audience reaction to TV and radio programmes.
The announcement comes in the wake of a review by Director-General Mark Thompson which announced job cuts totalling 2,900 jobs across the Corporation, and speculation that the research function could be among many affected.
The GfK contract runs from April 2005, when the current arrangement with Ipsos expires, and will deliver a much faster system of measuring audience response to all terrestrial and selected non-terrestrial television programmes, plus selected radio programmes. The complex new brief was developed in partnership between David Bunker and colleagues in BBC TV Research and Nick North's team at GfK Media.
Key improvements include:
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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