BARB 1ST October 2012
1ST OCTOBER 2012 Lesson Objectives
Learning Outcomes
• To understand the BARB data and its implications on TV viewing.
• I can understand the importance of BARB data and how it impacts on broadcasters.
• To know how research into television viewing is carried out.
• I can carry out research into television viewing.
• To develop ICT and numeracy skills.
• I can use ‘survey monkey’ and create charts and graphs using ICT.
BARB • BARB is an acronym for Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board • BARB was set up in 1981 to provide the industry standard television audience measurement service for broadcasters and the advertising industry. •
BARB is owned by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and is a not for profit company limited by guarantee.
• BARB commissions contractors to provide research services, including the production of audience viewing figures, on its behalf.
HOW IT WORKS •
BARB is responsible for providing estimates of the number of people watching television. This includes which channels and programmes are being watched, at what time, and the type of people who are watching at any one time. BARB provides television audience data on a minute-by-minute basis for channels received within the UK. The data is available for reporting nationally for terrestrial, satellite and cable reception for both analogue and digital platforms and at ITV and BBC regional level.
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Panel homes are selected via a multi-stage, stratified and un-clustered sample design so that the panel is representative of all television households across the whole of the UK. A range of individual and household characteristics are deployed as panel controls to ensure that the panel remains representative. As estimates for the large majority of panel controls are not available from Census data it is necessary to conduct a bespoke survey (the Establishment Survey) to obtain this information.
ESTABLISHMENT SURVEY •
The BARB Establishment Survey is carried out on a continuous basis and involves some 53,000 interviews per year. It is a random probability survey which means that every private residential household within the UK has a chance of being selected for interview. The survey ensures that any changes taking place in the population can be identified so that the panel can be updated and adjusted to ensure that it continues to reflect the television-owning population. In addition to being the prime source of television population information, such as the number of multi-channel homes, the BARB Establishment Survey also generates the potential recruits from which panel member homes are selected.
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When a household agrees to join the panel their television sets, PVRs, VCRs etc. are electronically monitored by a meter. Each TV in a home is connected to its own meter which holds an electronic record for the set. The meter is a small box which is put close to each television set and connected to it. The meter automatically identifies and collects information about the channel that the panel member is viewing.
PANEL HOUSEHOLDS •
All panel household residents and their guests register their presence when in a room with a television set on. Each individual does this by pressing a button allocated to them on the peoplemeter handset. The metering system monitors all registrations made by each individual for each television in the home.
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The panel member does not need to do anything else for BARB to capture the viewing in their household everyday. Throughout the day the meter system stores viewing undertaken by the entire household. Each night between 2am and 6am the data processing centre automatically downloads the data from panel homes (a process known as 'polling'). This procedure is carried out on every panel home every day to produce live 'overnight' minute-by-minute television viewing data.
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VCR, DVDR, PVR playback and "catch-up" VOD services is reported if it takes place within 7 days of the original broadcast. This viewing (known as timeshift) is then added to the live data to produce the final, minute-by-minute consolidated audience, available 8 days after the original transmission date. Consolidated data is the ‘BARB Gold Standard’ that is used by the industry to report and trade on.
RESPONSIBILITIES •
Channels reported by BARB provide detailed timings of the programmes and commercials they broadcast. The records that this produces are then matched to the minute-by-minute viewing data to produce the BARB official audience estimates for programmes and commercials.
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Specialist research companies are contracted to provide BARB with the service: RSMB (responsible for panel design and quality control); Ipsos MORI (responsible for the Establishment Survey); and Kantar Media (responsible for recruiting and metering the panel, data collection and processing).
DATA •
‘Live’ data reports viewing that takes place at the time of the original broadcast.
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'Consolidated’ data incorporates playback of time-shifted content within 7 days of the original broadcast. This timeshift viewing is added to the live data to produce consolidated viewing data made available 8 days after the original transmission date. Consolidated data is the 'BARB Gold Standard' used by the industry to report and trade on.
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BARB Gold Standard data generally refers to the consolidated data which incorporates live and timeshift viewing and is the official estimate of television viewing. However, any audience measure that has been generated by applying the BARB defined calculation methodology is BARB Gold Standard data. BARB Gold Standard data is used by the industry to report and trade on.
AUDIENCE •
All individuals aged 4+ are measured and reported by BARB. Within this, a user may look at any age group they wish.
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The viewing is reported by clock minute. Each clock minute is attributed to the channel that is viewed the longest within the clock minute subject to there being at least 30 seconds of viewing.
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Programme audiences are calculated by averaging the audience of all minutes covered by the programme transmission, from the start-time of the programme until the end-time of the programme, but excluding any embedded commercial breaks and promotions.
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The audience for a commercial is the audience for the clock minute in which the commercial starts.
BARB •
Go to: WWW.BARB.CO.UK
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Use the data in ‘top 10’ to create a bar chart of the 10 most popular TV shows over BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
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Answer the following 5 questions underneath your finished bar chat.
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1) Which program had the highest viewing figures for the week?
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2) Which TV genre is the most popular to watch?
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3) Which TV channel would you recommend to air a new advertising campaign on?
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4) Which day of the week carries the highest viewing figures?
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5) What is the most popular hour in the week to watch TV?
SURVEY MONKEY •
Create your own ‘Establishment Survey’ to find out peoples TV viewing over the course of the week.
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Discuss with the person next to you the best questions to ask.
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Share your survey with others.
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Create a graph to show your findings
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Write up 5 key features of your surveys findings.