Bangkok--23 Nov--RS
Pornpan Techarungchaikul, COO of RS Public Company, said that Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT) has submitted the detail of rating measurement by Media Research Bureau (MRB) and surveyed whether RS would like to join. The company has studied the project in detail and presented it to the board for consideration. The board resolved that RS will not join.
The reasons are as follows.
1. The budget for this project is significantly higher than what the company currently uses. Additionally, the rate is not fixed and dependent on the number of participants, which makes the budget hard to manage. Participants will also have to shoulder the initial cost for at least a year before the rating results are released.
2. The contract period is five years which is considered too long as a commitment. Although the contract says it can be terminated before that, the company will have to shoulder the cost for the remaining period, which is, in effect, the same result as it cannot be terminated.
3. The project is structured in such a way that those who have benefits in the ratings, own the information and have the authority to manage the information. The rating agency chosen will act as only service providers. There are potential future problems and conflicts if the rating came out not as expected. The structure of the project will make it very difficult to find possible solutions that can satisfy every member.
4. Nielsen Rating Agency, which RS currently uses, has confirmed that it will expand its sample size by 3,000 households by the end of 2017. Statistically, this sample size can further improve accuracy of the ratings. The current 2,200 household sample size is also acceptable considering the homogenous nature of the demographics of Thailand.
5. Nielsen Rating Agency, the current company that RS uses, has confirmed that it will provide Total Audience Measurement (Multi-Screen Rating) service in 2016. It has also carried out trials for the same type of measurement in big markets, and has results to confirm the effectiveness of its new method.
Therefore, the board of RS resolved that the company will continue using Nielsen Thailand to measure its rating, since it is an independent company with no stake in the business.