BBM Bureau of Measurement has received a vote of confidence from Canada’s private broadcasters and has scheduled the national rollout of its people meter service to be completed September 2001.

In addition to broadcaster support, a number of ad agencies are among the 22 organizations that have inked five-year deals with BBM.

Although the rollout has been pushed back a year, Ron Bremner, vice-president of BBM Television, says that was simply because many broadcasters wanted more time to study the test data before making a firm commitment.

‘What’s encouraging is that broadcasters critical to national expansion, namely Global Television and CTV, are supporting the service in Vancouver and Ontario.

Bremner says implementation of BBM’s system in Ontario and Quebec means the installation of meters in more than 1,000 homes by September 2000. National service calls for an additional 495 metered homes in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada, as well as some English-language homes in Montreal.

BBM competitor Nielsen Media Research already has a similar national service up and running.

While there is some frustration in the media, agency and client sectors over the duplication in services, many believe the competition between the two has not only accelerated the pace of rollout by both measurement companies but also kept down costs.

Ultimately, with a market the size of Canada, all sectors believe that only one system is needed. Which will be the winner is anyone’s guess, but it’s likely that the situation won’t be resolved for another three to five years.

Data being generated by the Nielsen and BBM electronic measurement systems in Vancouver are similar, so quality of service is not under debate. The main issue is price.

The cost of an annual subscription varies according to an agency’s annual billings but has been estimated to be about 10% higher for Nielsen Media.The big difference comes when buying respondent level data – data that accounts for every minute of every day for every program watched in every metered household. Right now it’s estimated that BBM charges around $5,000 annually while Nielsen Media charges about $50,000.

Mike Leahy, group vice-president, sales and marketing for Nielsen Media Research says he’s willing to talk price if it’s an issue.

‘We are willing and able to compete with anyone, but we will compete with better technology, better software and more innovation.’

Optimedia, the media buying division of Publicis Canada, is one of the agencies that has signed with BBM. The company also subscribes to Nielsen Media Research.

Debby King, senior vice-president and managing director, says there is a comfort factor in Canada with BBM because it is a tripartite, not-for-profit, full-disclosure organization.

‘There’s no question the Nielsen technology is good, but in the long run, the BBM alternative is more cost effective, and also allows us some input,’ King says.

Bruce Grondin, head of The Media Edge, Y&R’s media division, says he believes the decision will, in most cases, be made by the U.S.-based parent companies, who will likely lean toward the system they know, primarily Nielsen.

On the client side of the business, the Association of Canadian Advertisers is not supporting one system or the other, but president and CEO Ron Lund says association members are hoping that in the end there will be one system that meets the needs of advertisers.

That includes having more meters in each market and better measurement of specialty channels and stations with smaller viewing audiences.