aMap to provide viewership data of interactive content on DTH platforms

aMap, the audience measurement company, is foraying into measuring viewership for DTH (direct to home) services as well. It has signed deals with two DTH operators, Tata Sky and Dish TV, as of now and is already in talks with other operators.

Joseph Eapen, chief executive officer, aMap says that a fresh panel of 1,500 homes has been mounted, making available television viewership data for these DTH homes across 18 prominent DTH markets. Besides viewership data that is beneficial to advertisers and broadcasters, aMap will also provide viewership data for the interactive content provided by the DTH operators.

aMap Digital will use a proprietary technology, format independent content identification, which can measure all types of interaction of viewers with television. "We will be able to provide data on not just the viewership of channels but also of exclusive content featured by DTH providers. For instance, we will be able to provide data on how many people are watching Active Cooking or Active Darshan on Tata Sky," Eapen adds.

He says with the growing number of digital homes in the country and with platform owners increasing their exclusive content to viewers, this data can help them fine tune their offerings. Six months ago, the number of DTH homes was 13.5 million and just two weeks ago, the number had escalated to 18.2 million.

Besides, he adds that the interactive exclusive content could prove to be a big advertising opportunity for advertisers. "As viewers of this content become more potential, marketers can implement a more targeted advertising," he adds.

aMap will provide overnight data for its digital panel as well. In case of prominent events, it will also be able to provide data on an hourly basis because it uses the GPRS network, which enables data collection at real time.