Vice-President, Director of Broadcast Buying

Initiative Media, Toronto

It is our belief, from a media buying perspective, that what is sorely lacking in broadcast measurement is market rating data.

While we have 52 weeks of national audience data, we have only six to 10 weeks of market rating data, depending on the size of the market.

Fewer and fewer advertisers can afford full market lists.

That means while there’s national audience data out there, advertisers are not buying on a national basis, they are buying market to market.

Under the current market measuring system, we are not accurately reporting a lot of programming, such as hockey playoffs, awards programs, and so on.

The system even provides a weak sample of regular programming.

The industry has to be mature enough to pool its resources in order to afford a single measurement service. The fact is, there are two measurement services, and we can’t afford both.

There has to be more long-term thinking.

Consideration must be given to improving measurement tools in the industry at large, rather than to self-serving initiatives.

The broadcasting industry must get on with the task at hand.