I&B ministry pushes for unified measurement

New Delhi: In an apparent push for a unified measurement system, the centre is learned to have asked the industry stakeholders to come up with ideas and solutions to measure a piece of content across platforms. 

“With the exploding growth of digital mediums, a unified measurement metric is the bare minimum the industry needs to augment its growth further. The ministry has always encouraged the stakeholders to come up with a reliable unified measurement across linear and connected television, digital and social. We are open to engaging with industry bodies and private entities who are willing to offer the solution,” an I&B source told BestMediaInfo.

According to the source, the issue of unified measurement metrics has been raised in various meetings with stakeholders.

However, the source did not specify whether the unified measurement push by the government is for TV+Digital measurement on the lines of EKAM proposed earlier by BARC India.

Welcoming the move, BARC India chairman Shashi Sinha told BestMediaInfo.com that BARC has been running a panel of 15,000 handheld devices for over five years.

Along with this, BARC India has made considerable progress in building capacity for CTV measurement with a plan to deploy about 5,000 panels.

While BARC India’s preparedness for CTV measurement bolsters the efforts for unified measurement, it may hit roadblocks similar to what EKAM faced.

It may be recalled that platforms such as Google and Meta along with OTT apps were accused of blocking EKAM.

Even in digital space, different measurement metrics work across different platforms making life tough for marketers and platforms alike.

In an open market, a single metric with universal acceptance is highly unlikely. However, there are measurement firms such as comScore which are accepted by the stakeholders by and large.

While comScore is learnt to have come up with digital plus social measurement, there is a long way to go in creating a unified measurement.

ComScore is already planning to launch a CTV study in India aimed at providing comprehensive audience measurement for broadcasters and publishers. 

The company will be conducting surveys in the country to develop the study.