Telephia To Develop Mobile TV Audience Measurements

Telephia and Roundbox have announced a partnership to develop on-device audience measurement for mobile broadcast applications, including Mobile TV, using technology on the subscriber's handset. The technology will be deployed in permission-based consumer research panels and will allow media companies, mobile broadcasters, mobile operators and advertisers to track consumer viewing behavior.

The companies will combine their respective strengths in mobile broadcast technology and mobile consumer research to solve a central challenge for the mobile media industry - accurate and complete measurement of audience behavior. Much like the development of television ratings in the 1950s, this data will be critical for market players to tailor their offerings and support a variety of business models including advertising-supported viewing.

The two firms are building an interface between Roundbox's mobile broadcast software and Telephia's on-device metering platform that will allow them to log viewing behavior on panelist handsets and report it to a central server. The technology will deliver highly detailed measurements with minimal impact on handset operation and the panelist's user experience.

"Mobile broadcast is a breakthrough technology facilitating massive scale and low cost consumer access to multimedia content such as mobile TV, data services, and radio. However, in order to translate this technology into a thriving business ecosystem, complementary technology for accurate service measurement must also be developed," said Dennis Specht, founder and CEO of Roundbox. "Our partnership with Telephia will deliver this valuable and much-needed measurement solution to the entire industry."

"The only way to get a complete view of the behavior, attitudes, and demographics of the mobile media audience is to build a metered panel," said Sid Gorham, president and CEO, Telephia. "The launch of mobile broadcast networks and scale introduction of mobile advertising will make this type of measurement approach an imperative for the industry. We are excited to be collaborating with Roundbox who is a pioneer in the mobile broadcasting technology to deliver this capability to our clients."

Posted to the site on 12th December 2006