Please read the White Paper Copyright Notice

Download
WHP088 154 Kb

BBC R&D White Paper WHP088

Audience monitoring of BBC Interactive services on DTV:
A preliminary study into a possible technique
R.P. Marsden

Keywords
Digital Television, Interactive Service, Audience Research, Monitoring

Abstract
The BBC is keen to have a method of accurately measuring how much viewers use its Interactive services on digital television. This White Paper describes some preliminary investigations into a method for digital terrestrial television, based on the insertion of a “digital index” on each interactive page, created by the MHEG rendering engine in the set top box or integrated digital television receiver. This would be detected by a purpose-designed logging unit monitoring the composite signal on the SCART connection of the digital receiver. It is concluded that the method appears technically feasible, and although potentially visible on screen in some situations, would probably be acceptable both to our audiences and editorially. Further study would be needed to establish the total cost of such a system, which would need to cover not just the elements described here, but also mechanisms to assign and insert the digital index, and to collect and analyse the results.