BARB: The Next Generation
The advent of the new BARB measurement system is fast approaching. It is hoped that its new technology, new panel and new design will cope with the increasing complexity of the UK’s broadcast environment where the current system is straining. However, the teething problems are inevitable for those who deal in television, as Denise Turner, director of insight & effectiveness at the Media Planning Group, explains.
One of the main topics of discussion in the media industry and the occupier of many column inches in the trade press of late has been the new BARB research contract for measuring television audiences. The time is fast approaching when this moves from being under construction to taking up its role as a trading currency.
There is a general consensus that the new system is long overdue and that it is just what is needed because it contains huge improvements in the way audiences are measured. It is undoubtedly necessary in what is probably the most complex broadcasting environment in the world. The current system has struggled to cope with the multitude of changes over the 10 years since its inception and it is creaking in trying to measure digital television viewing. The growth of multichannel TV has resulted in a whole host of smaller channels whose programmes attract smaller audiences, which are difficult to measure and a huge percentage often report no ratings at all. This demonstrates the instability of the system and is evidence for the need to change.
However, a lot of the talk about the new contract has not focused on the huge improvements but on concerns with how the implementation of the panel is going. It has been well documented that the full panel will not be ready in time and there will be no parallel run data available before mid-December to assess the likely differences between the old and new panel. There are a lot of worried people in the media industry, wondering about what life will be like at the beginning of January when they return from the annual Christmas holiday.
All of this serves to highlight the key role of research. BARB data provides the numbers on which over £3bn is traded every year. It is undoubtedly important to get it right! However it also highlights the dilemmas which we face in delivering research.
It is essentially a debate between currency and truth. On the one hand, the primary role of research is to provide a currency. Consistency in the numbers provided by research is necessary so that buyers and sellers can effectively negotiate and trade on both an annual and a regular daily basis.
On the other hand it is also important that the research is as good as it can be, providing truth in its audience measurement. Improvements need to be made and progress is necessary so that the research doesn’t fall apart at the seams.
Unfortunately consistency and improvements in the accuracy of measurement do not generally go hand-in-hand. Changes in research mean changes in numbers. When a new research panel is brought in it is hard to know what is a true increase or decrease and what is simply the result of the switch to the new system.
However, a final thought – even if everything was in place for the beginning of January we would still have to be careful with the figures produced, simply because the system is new. This calls for pragmatism on the part of everyone trading in television. We will face this situation every time a new measurement system is brought in. We have to accept that we will always have to live with the tension that exists between currency and truth.
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