ACNielsen faces Thai challenge

The Joint Industrial Committee, a new grouping of TV stations, advertising and media agencies and production houses, is writing the terms of reference for the selection of an official research company to conduct local TV ratings. The terms should be completed by the end of March.

A contender has emerged in the form of Tokyo-based Video Research (VR), which has conducted TV ratings in Japan for 40 years. VR has established a joint-venture in Thailand to bid for the contract. A similar bid in Taiwan last year resulted in VR gaining the right to provide ratings for that country's TV industry.

Sunchai Anumanrajadhon, ACNielsen Thailand's managing director, declined comment on the likely impact of VR's bid.

VR began providing services to clients in Thailand in 2000 with its Audience & Consumer Report (ACR), which measures consumer exposure to all media throughout the country. "Our work on the Thai ACR has helped us understand a lot about the Thai market and how to go about conducting media research here,

said Tetsutaro Umeda, VR Thailand's managing director. Umeda said opening the firm's research methods and results to scrutiny by its clients would help it avoid the ITV-type attack on ACNielsen (media, February 8). "Accountability is the key. You have to prevent that sort of intention before it happens.

VR believes Thailand's market research industry to be worth more than two billion baht this year, a growth of 20 per cent over 2001.