Kantar Continues Charts Run

Kantar's contract to provide official charts and data for the music and video sectors in the UK and Ireland, and the music sector in France, has been extended past 2030. The global insights group is also working on 'a state-of-the-art entertainment data and analytics tool', for launch in 2026.

The award by the Official Charts Company extends a run which began in 1994 when Millward Brown took over the UK contract from Gallup, and follows the latest competitive tender process, in which Kantar defeated more than a dozen rival bidders, according to www.musicweek.com . Irish sales were added in 2017 and French music services in 2021 - Kantar partners with IRMA and SNEP/SCPP, respectively, for these markets.

The service is best known for the Official Singles Chart and the Official Artist Albums Chart, but in all compiles more than 50 music and video charts every week in the UK, where it also provides data services for more than 100 music and video companies. To date, it has reported on an estimated 1.6 trillion track streams and some 8.6bn album, single and physical video sales.

Official Charts Company CEO Martin Talbot says Kantar's team 'have risen to what was a challenging process, and are now building what we are certain will be the most advanced entertainment insight tool on the planet,' providing 'a step-change in data quality and flexibility, for entertainment professionals in the UK, France, Ireland and beyond.' Marie Ridgley, CEO of Kantar Insights UK & Ireland adds: 'It's an honour to combine our extensive industry expertise and analytics capabilities to unlock a uniquely rich dataset shaped by years of collaboration. This next chapter focuses on driving innovation and delivering even more value to Official Charts and their subscribers.'

Web sites: www.officialcharts.com and www.kantar.com . A full list of charts compiled is at www.officialcharts.com/who-we-are/all-the-official-charts .