A recent paper published by GfK sheds light on the state of the audience data market, and outlines a clear direction for the future of data in an internet-enabled TV world, while exploring the benefits of Big Data for broadcast.
GfK, the Society for Consumer Research) Germany’s largest market research institute, and the fourth largest market research organisation in the world, brought forth a new report last week, titled, ‘Big Questions, Big Answers: Will harnessing smart data for audience analytics save the broadcast industry?’
“The potential offered by Big Data is immense. Currently, everybody is engaged in data experimentation and there is a lot to fight for,” notes the Global Lead of the Media and Entertainment Industry at GfK, Mr. Niko Waesche.
“There are some key questions and challenges around the use of Big Data, especially within a rapidly evolving TV consumption model. Our latest paper looks at how Big Data is being used in the real world specifically in our industry, and where Big Data will be headed in years to come,” he added.
For this report, insights came from respondents that included key decision makers and executives from 14 media groups spanning companies that cater to more than 70 million subscribers and deliver content that reaches nearly a billion people every day. Astro, Channel 4, Digicel, Genius Digital, GfK, Liberty Global International (LBI), Magine TV, maxdome, Orange France, OSN, Sky IQ, UFA, Verizon and Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) were the participating broadcasters.
“Capturing and acting on behavioral data requires different capabilities and analytics from a purely asset-based approach. Broadcasters and cable providers should assess their capabilities now if they seek to remain competitive,” explained Tom Weiss, CEO of Genius Digital, a partner company of GfK.
Salient findings of the report are:
- Owing to the “diverse and increasingly demanding” TV audience operators are shifting from gleaning asset-based data towards behavioral insights to better understand and respond to the needs of content curators and advertisers.
- Behavioral data is key. Behavioral data unlocks new insights by capturing the who, what and when of the viewer, and places it in context alongside more traditional asset based data such as plays and subscribers.
- Suitable infrastructure helps ensure “intelligent transformation and interpretation,” of troves of behavioral and asset based data, enabling a better understanding of the audience and emerging trends.
The report in its entirety is available here.
Photo credit: Lubs Mary. / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
