Damien Pilkington-Lewis October 2013

UNITAM SYSTEM OVERVIEW

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UNITAM SYSTEM - OVERVIEW

Meters UNITAM-3 meters in the field capture viewing data from

each TV and upload it to base

UNITAM System Collects data from meters, identifies

channels and viewing activities and produces output for production

system

Production and Reporting

Receives output from UNITAM, performs

weighting, validation and prepares output

for clients

Key Points: • Built on 30+ years of TAM experience, including 12 years of experience

with audio matching • Delivering daily data in over 20 countries around the world • Comprehensive and flexible, meeting the needs of the most

demanding clients • Primary method of channel identification is audio matching • IR hints are used as a secondary method to resolve ties and identify

special activities

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UNITAM – PROCESS FLOW

Collect data from meters in

panel

Met

ers

Collection & Crediting

Collection IR Key Identification

UNITAM Collection and Crediting Function

Match audio signatures against

references to identify channel

Audio Matching

Match IR keys against Global DB

to identify keys pressed

Crediting

Merge data. Apply crediting rules. Identify

special activities. Produce output for production system.

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HH 1

COLLECTION ARCHITECTURE

Inte

rnet

Nielsen WAN

Production HUB 2 - Europe

DMZ

Inte

rnal

FW

Exte

rnal

FW

Production Production

Production Collection

LAN

TV #1

TV #2

HH 2

TV #1

Production HUB 1 - US

DMZ

Inte

rnal

FW

Exte

rnal

FW

Production Production

Production Collection

LAN

IP Based (GPRS) Reliable Secure

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IR KEY IDENTIFICATION

Field & QC Local teams identify unrecognized IR keys using Quality Control tools. Unrecognized

remotes are referenced and sent

to GSC.

Global Support Center

Validates reference data received from

countries. If validation rules are passed then add to

Global DB

Meter IR sensor captures IR,

generates IR signatures for each

key pressed

Collection Collection Facility

collects IR signatures, sends to IR matching process

IR Matching Process

Matches IR signatures from

meter with global IR Database to identify

keys

Output Output is fed into the audio matching and

crediting processes

Matching

Referencing

Global DB Deployment

Updated IR DB is deployed to

countries ready to be used in overnight

processing

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AUDIO MATCHING – INTRODUCTION

Sampled Content (Households)

Reference Content (TV Signals)

Audio Matching Process

Viewing Statements

Matching

Audio Signal

1001010100101001 1010010010010010 0011001010010100 0010010111001001 1110010100011100 0010110101010001 1001010100101001 1010010010010010 0011001010010100 0011001010010100

Digital Stream

10011101

Signature

Signature Generation

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AUDIO MATCHING – CHANNEL IDENTIFICATION

010101010

Household TV set

.

.

.

Ch 35

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 3 . . .

Ch N

100100100

101101101

101010101

010101010

011011011

Reference Database Digital

Comparison

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AUDIO MATCHING – CHANNEL IDENTIFICATION

Channel 1 Channel 2

010010010001000010101010 Ch 1

100101010010100101001010 Ch 2

Ch ???

010010010010100101001010

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AUDIO MATCHING – LIVE VIEWING

Meter Signatures

Viewing

Channel 1

References

Channel 2

Channel 3

Channel 4

Channel N

…

10:46:17

Live window (usually +/- 20 seconds)

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AUDIO MATCHING – TSV VIEWING

Meter Signatures

Viewing

Channel 1

References

Channel 2

Channel 3

Channel 4

Channel N

…

10:46:17

+20 Secs / -7 Days

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SIMULCAST RESOLUTION – AUDIO MATCHING

Channel B

010010010001011101001010 Ch A

010010010110100101001010 Ch B

Ch ???

010010010110100101001010

Simulcast

Ch 1 & Ch 2 Same Audio

Simulcast

Ch 1 & Ch 2 Same Audio

Unique

Match Only with Ch 2

When there is simulcast (same audio) between multiple channels, we can identify the channel viewed if there is any piece audio content that is unique to 1 of the channels. The unique piece can be as short as a single commercial.

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SIMULCAST RESOLUTION – UNRESOLVED

A, B or C?

Channel A

Channel

B

Channel C

The future starts here.

Ch ???

X

Z

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SIMULCAST RESOLUTION – USING IR KEYS

A, B or C?

The future starts here.

Ch ???

X

Z

Audio Matching

IR Keys 4 6 +

• Almost all channel changes are made using IR keys with a remote control

• Even if audio is identical, IR keys present at the channel change time can be examined and used to identify the channel

• Nielsen has developed a proprietary algorithm using 9 years of experience of IR crediting to support a wide range of IR activities

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CREDITING PROCESS

IR Keys IR keys pressed by the Panel Member

Audio Matching Channels

identified by audio matching

process

Statements TV On, Members

etc

Crediting Process

Meter Data Validation

IR, Audio, Statement Data Merge

Zapping Identification (Periods when Panel Member is changing

channels quickly)

Non-Tracked Activity (NTA) Identification (Program Guide Usage, Mute, Standby, Play/Pause/FF/Rew, Non-Broadcast etc)

Teletext Identification (Periods when Panel Member is using a

Teletext service)

Production and Reporting System