Audience measurement organisations
Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (Society for Consumer Analysis - GFK) is the primary organisation in charge of television measurement. It was established in 1935 in Nuremberg and introduced its GFK Meter in 1963, which transmits the viewing figures to the market research institution. The technical tool is linked to TV sets in a representative sample of 5,500 households in Germany and takes the measurement to the split second. However, the GFK panel has been criticised, because it does not measure the viewing figures of the migrants in Germany. Second, is criticised for not being transparent about the selection criteria and lacking reliability.
The public-service broadcasting ARD founded an association for investment in advertising in 1970. The ARD Sales & Services established a media analysis section that regularly publishes the latest data and interpretations related to the media (press, TV, radio, and Internet), as well as user trends in the special interest magazine Media Perspektiven. Articles are free of charge and published on the website.