The new BARB system has been harshly criticised by Janet Goldsmith, managing director of Universal Studios Networks UK, whose interests include the Sci-Fi Channel and The Studio film channel.
Writing in today’s Media Guardian, Goldsmith says that when the service resumed after the technical delay in the first half of the month, “The service was not nearly as bad as normal, it was worse.”
Goldsmith points out that the new panel is not yet up to full strength and that large discrepancies between the old and new system figures have been encountered.
“The shambolic start to BARB’s new system would be laughable if it did not have such serious financial implications” she says, “Like it or not, there is a heavy reliance on the figures it produces. It will determine how an estimated £3bn of advertising revenue is distributed this year.”
BARB’s new system, which it presented to the industry late last year (see BARB Presents New Research System) will eventually have a larger panel than the old system and is designed to cope with the increased diversification in delivery methods and the growing number of channels. However, technical issues meant that the release of viewing figures for the first two weeks after the 1 January launch had to be delayed (see BARB Releases First New System Overnights).
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