BARC, three other viewership measurement agencies form a global alliance

BARC (India), Mediametrie (France), Numeris (Canada) and Video Research (Japan) collaborate to align audience measurement operational processes and technical standards across the globe

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which provides television viewership measurement to the Indian broadcast and advertising ecosystem, has joined hands with three other viewership measurement agencies to form the Global Alliance for the Measurement of Media Audiences (GAMMA). The Indian viewership measurement agency has collaborated with Mediametrie (France), Numeris (Canada) and Video Research (Japan) on future audience measurement initiatives, including development of common technical standards and operational processes.

The four founding nations collectively account for a total population of more than 1.5 billion and represent a combined advertising spend of $78 billion, which amounts to 15 per cent of the total worldwide ad-spends.

The joint body will be led by veteran audience measurement executive Brad Bedford, who has been appointed global managing director of GAMMA.

GAMMA aims to leverage the collective knowledge and sector expertise of each member country to advance audience measurement solutions worldwide. Through closer co-operation, the participants intend to identify strategies and solutions that are more transparent and standardised to ensure greater efficiency, consistency and scope for audience measurement providers.

“Audience measurement across the world needs to constantly innovate to keep pace with emerging trends. We at BARC India have always been open to learning from our global counterparts and this international alliance offers a tremendous platform to not only learn from our peers, but also to contribute,” said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India.

“As in every other field, audience measurement needs to cater to changing media behaviors. Partnering with Television, Internet and Radio professionals for decades has allowed Mediametrie to develop unique technological and methodological expertise in audience measurement. We’re pleased to share these achievements with our colleagues, via this new alliance, to further accelerate innovation within the industry”, added Bruno Chetaille, chairman and CEO, Médiamétrie.

“This global body will help us leverage knowledge, innovation and audience measurement expertise as a result of more effective discussions with key international players. We are confident that this alliance will be a significant conduit in gaining stronger cooperation towards more consistent, transparent, standardized and interoperable audience measurement,” said Neil McEneaney, president and CEO, Numeris.

“While each market behaves differently and has unique challenges, the single issue common to all audience measurement providers today is the ability to capture complete viewership, irrespective of screen. Innovation and collaboration remain the primary criteria and this expanded global relationship provides a major step towards that end,” said Yuzuru Kato, president and CEO, Video Research Ltd.