Dual TV rating deals rattle media shops

SINGAPORE: In a move mirroring the ratings drama unfolding in Australia, Singapore's two television operators are establishing rival television ratings systems, raising concerns that this will create market confusion. MediaWorks, which is majority-owned by the SPH group, has contracted AC-Nielsen to establish a rival set of ratings next month when it launches two TVchannels. This follows a decision by the city's dominant broadcaster Media Corp to award a five-year contract to Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), which takes over from ACNielsen in May. Goh Hui Hoon, marketing services manager for MediaWorks, said the company is commissioning its own research because Media Corp had threatened to exclude it from the ratings package. However, to minimise discrepancies, it is understood that TNS' data will have the same sample error as ACNielsen's. But media agencies are unconvinced, fully aware of the unfolding situation in Australia, where sharp discrepancies have been reported in ratings data provided by ACNielsen and OzTam. Manpreet Singh, general manager of MindShare Singapore, said having two systems will only lead to confusion, while analysing two sets of figures will add to work and time pressures facing agencies. Although the stations will pick up the tab, media shops insist they will still incur additional costs because more staff will have to be recruited to handle the extra workload. Elaine Quek, client services director at CIA Singapore, said discrepancies are inevitable since each will use a different sample of people. Pointing to TNS' pilot rating figures, Quek said the data is already significantly different to ACNielsen's. Rebecca Tan, ACNielsen director of media research, said buyers should deal with discrepancies by examining the historical data - something only ACNielsen can provide as the incumbent.

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