CIMM Study to Assess Role of Panels in US TV Market

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) has launched a study to examine the future role and value of panels for TV and cross-platform measurement in the US.

A subsidiary of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), CIMM conducts research exploring two main areas: the current and future potential of TV measurement through the use of return path data; and new methods for cross-platform media measurement. Its new study, led by Joan FitzGerald, Data ImpacX, and Jonathan Steuer, Anonymous Media Research, aims to establish an industry consensus and improved understanding of the role and value of panels, identifying the most up-to-date panel technologies, future opportunities for innovation, cost structures, their coverage and purposes.

Fitzgerald says that a single research panel of tens of thousands of households is no longer sufficient for understanding TV viewing or for meeting the requirements for cross-platform video measurement. To address these limitations - such as incomplete coverage and sub-par data accuracy - and identify a path forward, the study will explore the extent to which different panel use cases are unique or substitutable with other approaches, and provide an assessment of new approaches and requirements for statistical reliability. CIMM says the project will enable the industry to better comprehend the different perspectives on panels across publishers, agencies, marketers and providers, including the extent to which different constituencies believe panels are or are not needed, and why.

Jon Watts (pictured), MD, CIMM, explains: 'The growing use of different datasets to support measurement, the shift of viewing to connected devices and increasingly sophisticated modeling techniques have led many industry participants to question the value of panels. At the same time, we're seeing a proliferation of new panels for calibration and other purposes and steady improvements in panel technologies. This project aims to align the industry around a clear understanding and common vision for the future role and value of panels in the US TV market,'

The initiative is being supported by a Project Steering Group of: Yee Pang, Group Director, Research & Measurement, GroupM; Larry Allen, VP and GM of Addressable Enablement, Comcast Advertising; Howard Shimmel, President, Janus Strategy and Insights; Helen Katz, EVP, Research, Publicis; and Artie Bulgrin, Measurement Consultant & Project Lead, ANA and more.

Web site: www.cimm-us.org .