Barb completes major expansion of panel

Barb has completed the largest expansion of its nationally representative panel since its launch in 1981.

The TV audience measurement body has increased its reporting sample of UK households from 5,150 to 7,000, now comprising approximately 16,000 people, alongside new metering technology.

This builds on Barb’s reporting on four-screen viewing, as well as on-demand services, video-sharing platforms and dynamically served advertising.

The new panel additions will be integrated through the Barb Panel Plus initiative, which will also allow Barb to incorporate return path data and first-party data for a range of media owners.

Caroline Baxter, Barb’s chief operating officer, said expanding the panel was “crucial”.

She explained: “At Barb, we know that underpinning successful, truly independent audience measurement using both panel data and big data is the high-quality and robustness of the panel itself. By investing in rigorous, interview-led recruitment, we reach all parts of the population, making our panel truly representative of the UK.

“This increase demonstrates Barb’s continued commitment to the UK TV and advertising industry to deliver independent quality insight that comes from panel-based measurement.”