Bigger, Better, BARBier

BARB - the cornerstone of television audience measurement in the UK has completed their largest expansion since its launch, in 1981.

TV buyers (including myself) are rejoicing at the fact BARB has increased its reporting sample of UK households from 5,150 to 7,000, now comprising approximately 16,000 people, alongside new metering technology.

The way we watch TV has changed, I remember when I thought Sky+ was a game changer. ‘What do you mean I can record Spongebob whilst Dad watches the news?’

Fast forward to 2024 where audiences are increasingly turning to streaming services, on-demand content, and multi-platform viewing. This shift to a more comprehensive view of measurement and understanding of TV watching is welcomed, and some could argue overdue.

The expansion of the BARB panel aims to address the challenges that arise when audiences are viewing content across various devices such as TVs, Smartphones, Tablets, and computers. Now, more than ever, there is a need to measure viewership across all these platforms to provide a holistic view of audience behaviour.

As well as the larger panel improving the accuracy and reliability of data. BARB can better represent the viewing habits of a diverse population, including younger demographics and those who primarily consume digital content.

Caroline Baxter, Barb’s chief operating officer states “combining a representative panel with big data, we achieve best of both worlds, ensuring data is both comprehensive and precise.”

BARB can now offer more granular insights into specific demographic groups, including detailed breakdowns by age, gender, socio-economic status, and geographic location. This allows for more targeted analysis and advertising strategies.

BARB includes census data from broadcaster live viewing and VOD which lacks data from other sources such as set-top boxes and streaming services. They are now working to adopt a hybrid measurement model through their Barb Panel Plus initiative that combines traditional panel data with big data from various sources, including streaming services and set-top boxes. However, with so much data available from various sources, deploying this correctly will be technically challenging and requires advanced data integration.

Barb Panel Plus will facilitate the Barb service to incorporate first-party data from a wide range of media owners, including pure-play VOD services and video-sharing platforms as well as YouTube, thereby further enhancing the dataset.

By incorporating streaming data, BARB provides valuable insights into the competitive landscape of digital content. Streaming services can now benchmark their performance against traditional broadcasters and other digital platforms.

So what does this mean for our industry? Enhanced audience measurement enables advertisers to more precisely target their campaigns and measure their effectiveness. The ability to track cross-platform viewership allows for optimised ad placements and improved return on investment.

Overall, the expansion of the BARB panel marks a significant milestone in the evolution of media measurement.  Although BARB provides a vital service to the media industry, they must ensure consistency is maintained within their data. Ensuring consistent measurement standards across different platforms and devices can be difficult, potentially leading to discrepancies in the data.  Barb will need continuous updates to maintain the expanded measurement infrastructure. This will obviously require resources and funding, so who pays the extra cost? By capturing the complexities of modern media consumption accurately, BARB enables stakeholders to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing landscape. This expansion not only reflects the current state of media but also sets the stage for future innovations in audience measurement.

Now BARB data can tell us Spongebob has reached 0.01% of 25 year old men in London at least three times…