International Group to Improve Quality
of Global Television Programming

Geneva, August 2, 1999

When viewers in Beijing watch the same television program that is being viewed in Bahrain, Brooklyn and Basle — shouldn’t their viewing be measured with the same yardstick? "ARM believes it must", says Gabe Samuels, Senior Vice President of the Advertising Research Foundation and current Chairman of the ARM group.

The culmination of 10 years of work, the publication of the GGTAM is a critical step in the continuing pursuit of harmonization of standards for television audience measurement around the world. Its originator, the Group of European Audience Researchers, was soon joined by the European Broadcasters Union to form the Audience Research Methods group. The group continues its work to this day with the active participation of a number of prestigious international organizations. In addition to offering principles for data collection and reporting, GGTAM provides details on the methods involved in TV audience measurement for the various participating countries.

"Its significance," says Samuels, "by far transcends the short-term benefits that will accrue to the international marketing community. If international agreement can be reached on this one issue of television audience measurements, it will open the door for international cooperation of unprecedented scale. There are lessons, acquired at great costs in the Americas and Europe, which can be shared with the global community, if trust can be established. The GGTAM is the mechanism by which we can begin the process of understanding one another."

The Audience Research Methods group is a non-profit organization that has produced a number of other media related Standards documents. For more information about this organization and for ordering your copy of the GGTAM, please contact the European Broadcasting Union at:

Ancienne Route 17A

CH-1218 GRAND SACONNEX GE

Switzerland

Tel: (+41 22) 717-2111

EBU European Broadcasting Union (Sponsoring member)

ARF Advertising Research Foundation (USA)

CARF Canadian Advertising Research Foundation

EAAA European Association of Advertising Agencies

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EMRO European Organizations for Media Researchb

ESOMAR European Society for Opinion & Marketing Research

GEAR Group of European Audience Researchers

PETV Pan-European Television Research Group

WFA World Federation of Advertisers