External report confirms system acceptance

Dubai, October 15, 2012: Emirates Media Measurement Company (EMMC) has announced that the UAE TV audience measurement system was now officially 'live' following confirmation of acceptance by the exernal TAM auditors and consultants Hulks & Ruud.

The final part of the setup was to gain approval from independent experts who tested and verified all aspects of the system including panel management, data accuracy and stability and a range of key performance indicators.

Their report concluded that:

"...the current panel is sufficiently well balanced on the primary controls and that the TAM system is well organised in terms of panel maintenance and reporting.

Thus we recommend that the panel is now accepted as providing a viable currency."

The report was presented to the EMMC Board of Directors meeting n Dubai and Abu Dhabi on October 4 chaired by the Director-General of the National Media Council, Ibrahim Al Abed. The Board includes representatives from Abu Dhabi Media, Rotana Media, Etisalat and Sharjah Media.

Welcoming the report, the General Manager of EMMC Mr Christopher O'Hearn said:

"We have always understood the need for full transparency, and the endorsement of external auditors is a key milestone for the system. We have an ongoing commitment to adopt the best technical advice and will continue to subject the system to annual external audits which will be published openly and implemented by us."

The people-meter system has been running in trial stages since December 2011 following a setup period.

A number of clients have already installed the system and have been using the data on a test basis.

Subscribers receive daily audience data which can be analysed and reported in a powerful software tool. In addition the system provides daily logs of programs and advertising spots on nearly 60 of the most popular channels in the region.

"Our early users have found tview offers them an unprecedented and extremely valuable insight. Of course it is not yet perfect and we will continue to refine and improve it in cooperation with the industry. This is a huge leap which will help the media market grow, enable advertisers to reach their audiences and ultimately mean better choice and content for viewers." said Mr O'Hearn.

ABOUT EMMC and tview
EMMC is a joint venture of leading broadcast entities, Abu Dhabi Media, Sharjah Media, Rotana Media, and Etisalat, and is also supported by du.

The project was the result of a Federal Cabinet initiative and has been led by the National Media Council and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

The Director-General of the NMC, Mr Ibrahim Al Abed, is the chairman of EMMC and the TRA's Director-General Mr Mohamed Al Ghanim sits on the board.

tview is the name of EMMC's ratings system based on People Meters - measurement devices in the homes of a panel designed to represent the TV viewing population of the UAE.

By reporting viewing at a minute-by-minute level it offers insights into viewing patterns and behaviour which have not previously been available. Such research offers broadcasters, media agencies and advertisers the possibility of improving their programming, scheduling and advertising.

The tview panel data includes detailed demographic information such as nationality, gender, location, age and socio-economic status for viewers aged 4 and above, although all data is reported anonymously and individuals are not identified.

In addition to the data provided in full to subscribers, EMMC will make extracts of the tview ratings information publicly available on its website www.tview.ae and will distribute summaries to trade and press.

For more information or interviews please contact :
Nivine Zaky
nivine@tview.ae
+971 4 422 9538
info@tview.ae

© Press Release 2012