GfK wins contract for TV research in Portugal for first time

LISBON, PORTUGAL: In the media sector, GfK has been awarded another major TV research contract in Europe. GfK Portugal will be establishing a TV panel in Portugal for the first time. This panel will be equipped with the latest innovative measuring technologies, which has been developed by GfK Telecontrol, GfK's centre of expertise for electronic media research based in Switzerland.

For the first time, the Portuguese Commission for Media Study Analysis (CAEM) has awarded GfK Portugal a contract to establish a new television panel in the country in partnership with GfK Telecontrol. From January 2012, GfK Portugal will be measuring the TV audience ratings of all the country's major TV stations. The panel will be launched with the fix meter UMX with 1 000 households, and will be representative of 3.5 million households in total. The contract will run until 2016. "We are proud of the fact that our innovative UMS measuring technology was successful and that GfK will be delivering the 'currency' for the Portuguese advertising market in future," said Wilhelm R. Wessels, the management board member of GfK SE responsible for the media sector.

Future collaboration

As a result of GfK Telecontrol's excellent local knowledge of the Portuguese media market, the two companies see potential in also collaborating for other contracts in future, such as the measurement of internet, poster and radio reaches, for example.

With the newly developed Universal Meter System (UMS) from GfK Telecontrol, which is based in Switzerland, GfK Portugal will be able to record all TV usage behaviour in future. The Universal Meter System (UMS) is a comprehensive media measurement tool which creates new possibilities for media research. By combining different measurement technologies in a central measuring system, it is possible to monitor almost all electronic forms of media usage. The core element is the fix meter UMX, which records the full range of media usage on a household's TV.

By integrating the portable Mediawatch meter, which is worn by the panel member and records individual radio, TV and print consumption, GfK is able to record media consumption both in and outside the home. The USX internet meter measures media usage on a computer and general internet use via a USB stick. Furthermore, through an additional device, GfK can record channel information, as well as information on time delay TV or video on demand.