What is a PeopleMeter?

A PeopleMeter is a combination of hardware devices used in panel homes to collect television viewing information. There are three main components to a PeopleMeter:

A monitor

• There is one monitor for every television set within the home.
• This monitor automatically detects the status of the television set (on/off) and the channel it is tuned to
• It prompts the panel members whenever the television set is on to register themselves using the handset.

A remote control handset

• One for every monitor in the home
• This handset is used by the panel member to identify themselves when they are viewing the television set or to deselect themselves when they are not viewing
• Guests can also register themselves as viewers using the handset.

A data storage unit

• One per home
• This collects and stores the data from the monitor/s everyday
• This unit is polled each night by Nielsen TV Audience Measurement and the day's data retrieved for processing ready for delivery at 9.30am the following day.

Where Do the Ratings Come From?

The Peoplemeter Panel
The Peoplemeter Panel is a national panel covering the whole of New Zealand. It is made up of approximately 500 households. These households are permanent, private dwellings and have been selected to reflect a "mini-New Zealand". These dwellings may be either owned or rented properties.

How do we achieve a "Mini New Zealand"?
Census data provides much of the detail for defining what the sample should look like. This is complemented with information from an Establishment Survey run twice each year by Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

1. To provide detailed information on variables such as the number of television sets in homes, weight of viewing, number of VCRs etc.
2. To provide a pool of homes from which households can be recruited to the panel.

The data from the Census and Establishment Survey is then used to create the panel control matrix, which defines the final make-up of the Panel to ensure a balanced representation of the New Zealand population.

• Panel homes are recruited from the Establishment Survey Pool.
• Peoplemeter equipment is installed on every piece of television equipment in the house - TV, VCR, set-top box etc. The viewing information is captured in the data storage unit and transferred to Nielsen TV Audience Measurement each night.
• Daily monitoring and validation procedures identify any problems in the home, e.g. technical difficulties. These are followed up daily.
• Homes may remain on the panel for a maximum of 72 months.

Independent Auditing of the Peoplemeter Panel

Independent auditing of the service has been in place since 1990. On a monthly basis, the Auditor reviews performance of the panel against a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPI). These KPIs have been developed in consultation with the Broadcasters Group, which comprises TVNZ, MediaWorks TV and SKY Network Television.

In addition to the monthly auditing of performance, the Auditor conducts a coincidental survey each year to check panelists' claimed viewing behaviour against their button pushing behaviour. These surveys show that there is a very high level of compliance in the use of Peoplemeter equipment among panelists.

A Comparative Look at Audience Measurement in New Zealand

Television has the most comprehensive system for measuring audience.

Television Press Magazines Radio Methodology Peoplemeters Face to Face Face to Face Diary Frequency 24 hrs/7days Annual Bi-annual (12 mth rolling avg) Bi-annual in metro areas, Annual in provinces Sample Size 1,100 daily 12,000 annually 12,000 annually Metro: 8,200 bi-annually Provinces: 8,000 p.a. Population Measured 5+ 15+ 10+ 10+ Definition of Viewing/ Readership / Listening: In the room with the television set on, and watching Have read or looked into any issue, any where for 2 mins or more Have read or looked into any issue, any where for 2 mins or more Respondent indicates on diary any radio station listened to for 8 minutes or more in each quarter-hour period Availability of post-analysis: Yes No No No