Médiamétrie
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Company type | S.A. |
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Founded | June 1985 |
Founder | Jacqueline Aglietta |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Market studies and surveys |
Products | Audience behaviour and market trends |
€102.7 in 2018 | |
Owner | Yannick Carriou |
Number of employees | 674 |
Website | mediametrie |
Médiamétrie (French pronunciation: [medjametʁi]), established in 1985, is a public limited company specialising in audience measurement and research into audio-visual and digital media usage in France. It is especially well known for its Audimat brand whose name is now part of everyday language; today, however, that brand is named Médiamat.
About
Médiamétrie came into being during the 1980s in response to the new needs of the audio-visual landscape in France which was undergoing rapid change at that time. In
History
Television
In 1981, Audimat was launched in France by the Centre d’Étude d’Opinion (CEO), an opinion research company. It was based on a panel of 600 households equipped with audience meters. Measurement was carried out on a daily basis with results reported the following morning, however, no indication was given as to the profile of the audience watching the television set. In early 1988, Médiamétrie and other market stakeholders agreed to launch a benchmark measurement based on a larger panel and which took individual audiences into account. At that time, Audimat became Médiamat, which from then on was an individual television audience measurement rather than a household one. In 2008, the panel was expanded to its current size: 5,000 households, approximately 11,400 individuals aged four years and over. In 2011, recorded time-shifted viewing was incorporated into
Radio
1986 saw the creation of an audience measurement mechanism for the
Internet
With the technological developments of the 2000s, Médiamétrie expanded its activities to include measurement of the internet audience in France. Thus in 1999, Médiamétrie initiated measurement of web traffic thanks to its “24,000 Multimedia” survey. In 2000, the company launched a joint-venture with Nielsen to produce an internet / computer measurement in France that was based on a panel of several thousand individuals. The emergence of
Visual identity
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Logo 1999-2001
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Logo 2001-2013
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Logo since April 2013
Company activities
Audience measurement
Médiamétrie conducts media audience measurement in France and covers radio, television, cinema and internet. Its studies are used by media and industry professionals to tailor their editorial content and to obtain data to use when calculating advertising rates.
Media behaviour studies and new practices among French consumers
Médiamétrie measures the audiences of the main media and it also conducts surveys into new behaviours and practices of French consumers. It also decodes trends in equipment, media consumption and emerging practices such as video on demand, smart speakers, podcasts, etc.
Thematic studies
Beyond audience measurement and studies into media behaviour, Médiamétrie also surveys the French population about their practices and opinions.
A few examples of non-media related surveys:
- “Illegal video use in France” with the Centre National du Cinéma (CNC) and the ALPA association against audio-visual piracy;
- “The French and management of their personal data” with the Institut des Mines-Télécom;
- “The French and Artificial Intelligence” with Paris-Dauphine University;
- “Citizenship and Civility on the Internet” with Renaissance Numérique.
International activities
Médiamétrie is present internationally in three business areas.
Exporting technology
In India, the BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) chose the audience meters developed by Médiamétrie as well as watermarking technology to use with its television audience measurement panel. With 33,000 Indian households now equipped, this also represents the largest TV panel in the world. In Norway, TNS Gallup Norway (Kantar Media Group) decided to equip 1,500 of its TV panellists with the RateOnAir mini-audience meter to include measurement of television programme viewing outside the home.
In May 2019, Médiamétrie and three foreign research institutes – BARC (India), Numeris (Canada) and Video Research (Japan) – formed an international alliance in order to collaborate on the future of video audience measurement.
Audience measurement in Africa
In Morocco, Médiamétrie operates automatic television audience measurement via its subsidiary Marocmétrie, with a similar activity to that carried out in France (representative household panel equipped with audience meters).
In
, Médiamétrie and its local partners conduct several “reporting-based” surveys annually to discover the TV, radio and internet practices of the inhabitants of these countries.International programme monitoring and audience data from different countries
Glance,[1] Médiamétrie's international television department compiles TV audience data from around the world thanks to its partnerships with Médiamétrie's counterparts abroad.[2] Its data bank includes over 7,000 channels in more than 100 countries around the world. Glance monitors and detects new TV and online programmes around the world.
Since September 2016, Glance has worked closely with TAPE Consultancy, a British company specialising in TV content as well as production and programming consultancy.
Methods and Operation
Television
Television audiences in France
A sample or "panel"
Composed of 5,000 households i.e. almost 11,400 individuals aged 4 years and older equipped with a television set, the sample is representative of the French population. It is constituted and recruited based on the following criteria: socio-demographics (gender, age, PCS from
A technology
The technology uses a box (the audience meter) fitted to the televisions in sample households and also relies on a special
The conventions or "rules of the game"
Television audience measurement also relies on conventions that lay down the “rules of the game”: what does the measurement include? What size should the
Time-shifted, catch-up and internet screens
Watermarking can be used to distinguish live viewing from time-shifted viewing of programmes: it detects the difference between the broadcast date and time information for the live programme and the time logged by the audience meter as the programme was actually being watched. In 2011, Médiamétrie incorporated time-shifted audiences watching programmes in pre-recorded and live pause modes into Médiamat, and in 2014, it added catch up audiences for programmes on TV. Each day, 4.4 million French people watch television on internet screens, i.e. computer, smartphone and tablet (Source: Global TV – Oct.-Dec. 2017). In order to take these new practices into account, today, Médiamétrie measures TV audiences on the television set but also on smartphones, tablets, and computers.[4] Derived from the reconciliation of TV and internet measurements, these audience numbers are available for all screens and all viewing times.[5] Médiamétrie received the IAB Europe award for its 4-screen measurement in May 2017.[6]
Channels included in the measurement
DTT channels
The 27
Channels received via cable, satellite, broadband internet or fibre optic
Médiamat'Thématik operates just like the Médiamat. This automatic audience measurement covers more than 120 channels and has a catchment population in excess of 46.2 million people aged 4 years and older.
Radio
126,000 Radio Survey
Médiamétrie's 126,000 Radio survey measures the radio audience in France for all listening locations and modes (traditional radio, car radio, computer, mobile phone, etc.). 126,000 individuals aged 13 years and older who are representative of the population are surveyed over a year via computer-assisted telephone interviews. The 126,000 Radio survey is administered from Médiamétrie's survey sites based in Amiens and Petit-Quevilly. Results are published in four waves throughout the year: January/March, April/June, July/August and September/December. “Grilles Radio d’Été”,[7] the July/August wave of summertime radio programming audience results features slightly different programming schedules. Local and regional radio audiences are researched in the Médialocales study.
Complementary surveys
Other panel-based surveys are also conducted which analyse different behavioural aspects of the French towards radio: their loyalty to particular stations is studied via the Radio Panel; the audiences of podcasts and all other audio content (audio books, music streaming, etc.) are studied via the Global Audio Study.
Internet
Audience measurement of websites and apps on all screens
Médiamétrie measures internet usage and audiences through various studies, including the Total Internet Audience study[8] which analyses the audiences of over 6,000 websites and 700 apps. This automated study is carried out via software installed on computer equipment. It records the browsing history of 30,000 individual panellists aged 2 years and older. The data collected is then extrapolated to the total population of internet users living in France. This measurement includes audiences for all connection locations and screens (computer, tablet, mobile phone).
Complementary studies
Other surveys decode the media and multimedia practices (video
Governance
Board of directors
The
Decision-making committees
Six committees define, guide and validate the measurements and studies conducted by Médiamétrie: Audimétrie (audience measurement), TV Thématiques (special interest TV), Internet, Radio and Métridomet Data. Scientific and technical commissions plus working groups and an internet assembly complement the work of these committees.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
Capital
Médiamétrie's capital amounts to €14,880,000 and is held by market professionals:
Reviews
Médiamétrie was the subject of strong criticism during 2006. The audience measurement institution was challenged by two of its directors, Patrice Duhamel and Philippe Santini, who accused the company of opacity and inertia in the face changing technology and new modes of consuming media (broadband internet, DTT, mobile, podcasts). In particular, the audience measurement methods and the reliability of the audience results provided by Médiamétrie for DTT channel audiences were called into question.
In 2009, the novelist Marc Welinski published a thriller entitled: “Indices”, whose plot was based on the internal Médiamétrie manipulation of the audience ratings for a major television channel, TVF.
In 2012, the journalist Eric Leser of slate.fr published a heavily critical article evoking issues such as: conflicts of interest, easily manipulated measurements, back room plots, promotional games and even the lack of competition.
In 2017, Didier Maïsto, President of the Fiducial Media Group and the owner of Sud Radio, announced his intention to file a complaint against Médiamétrie. He called into question the company’s survey methods which he claimed could indicate erroneous figures and he accused it of “being the judge in its own case.
In 2018, the Court of Appeal of Versailles rejected Sud Radio's request concerning a court-appointed expert investigation into the Radio audience measurement methodology.
References
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Eurodata is now called Glance". Glance.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "About Eurodata TV Worldwide". Eurodata.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Médiamétrie now measuring the OTT myCANAL platform in 4-screen TV audience". Médiamétrie.
- ^ "French online TV viewing: the stats". Broadband TV News. November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Médiamétrie: catch-up and multiscreen growing, fiction programming benefiting". Digital TV Europe. February 4, 2019.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Médiamétrie wins twice at the IAB Europe Research Awards 2017". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Audience of summertime radio programming". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Total Internet Audience". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Audimétrie Committee". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "TV Thématiques Committee". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "The Internet Committee". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "Radio Committee". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "The Metridom Committee". Médiamétrie.
- ^ Sensio, Extreme. "The Data Committee". Médiamétrie.
External links
- (in French) Observer Mesurer Analyser
- (in English) Observer Mesurer Analyser