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TV viewership measurement project in July

ABU DHABI — A whopping Dh70-million project to measure television viewership in the country is slated to be launched in the middle of July.

The National Media Council (NMC) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) will launch the first phase of the Television Audience Measurement (TAM) project across the UAE on July 15, Mohammed Al Ghanim, director-general, TRA announced at a media briefing at the headquarters of the NMC in the Capital on Tuesday.

The project, the first of its kind in the region, is designed to measure TV viewership and represents a critical step towards better development of the UAE’s media industry.

The project will also cover 50 most-viewed foreign channels in the country and will provide information on TV viewing habits and preferences according to age, gender, nationality and other viewer’s choices as well.

Al Ghanim revealed that the project which will focus on visual media to start with, will later cover audio media also.

The project would aim at generating ratings that will be used as a currency of trade for the media industry. This would also help enhance quality of television programming and advertising by providing accurate data for producers and advertisers to outline media plans, Al Ghanim said.

In a statement, Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Public Works and Chairman of the NMC, said the project will be a step towards greater development of the UAE media industry. It is a significant and exciting development for the UAE and will be the first of its kind in the region.

An essential part of phase one of the TAM would be surveys and direct interviews to find out the favourite programmes, Al Ghanim said.

The Dubai-based media will conduct the survey, which will provide the Emirate Media Measurement Company (EMMC) with the social and demographic characteristics of viewers, type of TV system and local viewing trends.

Confidentiality will be taken into consideration, so no information about the participating household will be revealed, he added.

“We are seeking to engage all parties concerned in the project; consultations are underway with advertisers who have agreed to join the project’s Steering Committee and the EMMC’s board. In this context, a consultative technical team of advertisers’ representatives has been formed for the support and follow up of the project,” said, Al Ghanim.

The project to be operated by EMMC, is owned by Abu Dhabi Media Company, Dubai Media Incorporated, Sharjah Media Corporation, Etisalat and supported by Du.

anwar@khaleejtimes.com