AGB Nielsen to Cover Rural China

Global ratings supplier AGB Nielsen is adding rural viewers to its Chinese TV audience service, reports the Financial Times. The move should help it to compete with rival firm CSM Media Research, and reflects growing purchasing power outside the cities.

The firm will spend around $35m on a programme to add rural viewers in the most populous regions of China, according to a report in the Financial Times. The FT quotes Alberto Colussi, MD of the company's corporate support center, who says that the expansion follows requests by big advertiser multinationals for coverage 'beyond the borders of the cities'.

The ratings will represent about 900 million Chinese people in 15 provinces and regions by the end of 2007. AGB Nielsen currently covers just under 100 cities.

AGB Nielsen is a joint venture between WPP and VNU NV, and is online at www.agbnielsen.net .

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