The Teletest working group (AGTT), which measures TV and video usage in Austria, will upgrade its system with HbbTV-based data collection from 1 September 2024.
After a development and test phase lasting around four years, Teletest 2.0 is set to provide advertisers, media agencies and broadcasters with new data quality, according to AGTT.
The existing Teletest panel will be linked with the return path data from over 1.1 million HbbTV reception devices connected to the internet in Austria. According to Teletest, the enhanced measurement methodology should “drastically reduce” fluctuations in smaller target groups and make so-called “zero reach” due to insufficient case figures a thing of the past, adding that the result of Teletest 2.0 will be more stable and reliable data.
The new form of reach measurement combines the data from the HbbTV devices with the legacy Teletest panel, whereby the technically generated “big data” is upscaled according to socio-demographic and consumer characteristics.
Another benefit: whereas previously the time-shifted use of TV content was only available eight days after the initial broadcast, this will already be the case in the new Teletest 2.0 on the day after the broadcast. As before, the data from the Teletest 2.0 will be published on the AGTT website in the morning of the following day.
“The integration of the return path data increases the number of samples for the Teletest 2.0 exponentially. The enhanced data quality offers significant advantages in TV planning and ensures that the Teletest 2.0 with its audited and reliable figures is the recognised and trustworthy currency in the TV world,” said AGTT Chairman Thomas Gruber (ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4).
Gruber reports considerable interest from other European countries, where the Austrian first-mover project is being followed and an adoption of the new reach measurement is being evaluated.
“With Teletest 2.0, Austrian marketers and broadcasters are offering even more transparency. In contrast to global platforms, advertisers and agencies can rely on valid and audited data. The entire Teletest 2.0 innovation project was developed and implemented in Austria, creating additional value in this country and supporting Austria as a TV and media location,” said Gruber.
Susanne Koll (Hearts & Science Austria), President of media agency association IGMA, added: “By using big data, Teletest 2.0 offers a much more stable measurement of TV ratings and provides a clearer picture of actual TV usage. This will particularly benefit smaller and niche channels that were previously not correctly represented. It also significantly improves the accessibility of smaller target groups in media planning. Teletest 2.0 is a milestone in TV measurement that was achieved through intensive dialogue between the media agencies and the Teletest working group.”
The launch of Teletest 2.0 lays the foundation for a further innovation: By merging panel data with the measurement of more than one million HbbTV devices, Teletest 2.0 data is available in real time and forms the basis for TV-LOAD. The tool accesses this live data to optimise advertising blocks in real time. TV-LOAD, which Austrian video marketers will be introducing in the coming months, is intended to enable precise digital targeting in the broadcaster environment. The data from the Teletest 2.0 will make it possible to compile adverts for a specific target group for an advertising block, further improving the performance of TV campaigns, according to AGTT.
Founded in 2005, AGTT includes all major market players in Austria: ATV, Goldbach Austria, IP Austria, ORF, ORF-Enterprise, ProSiebenSat.1 Puls 4 and Servus TV.