Audience measurement organisations
Nielsen is the primary organisation in charge of television audience measurement. Since 1988, it started initially as AGB Hellas in Greece, offering the market a full range of services, including audience data, software packages and technical expertise to fulfil every need associated with television audience measurement. In 2004, Nielsen began a joint venture called AGB Nielsen Media Research with the AGB Group, a European competitor which provided similar services. Initially, it operated under the brand name AGB Nielsen Media Research and then as Nielsen. The company was renamed Nielsen Television Audience Measurement in 2010 following the full acquisition of AGB by Nielsen, the largest provider of TAM services in the world. There is also the so-called TV Audience Research Control Committee (TV ARCC) which controls and audits the TV audience measurement system. It is comprised of representatives from: the Union of Hellenic Advertisers, the Union of Hellenic Advertising Agencies, the public broadcaster (ERT), major commercial broadcasters and the Association of Hellenic Market and Opinion Research Companies.
Radio measurement in the Attica region is run by private company Focus in collaboration with AEMAR, the Joint Industry Committee for Attica Radio, consisting of the Association of Privately Owned Radio Stations in Attica and the Association of Greek Advertising Agencies. The survey is conducted under an industry contract since 2006. The AEMAR BARI Radio Audience Survey is a continuous daily survey using the technique of Day-after-Recall with CATI technology (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews) for 44 weeks per year. Results are reported weekly (continuous weekly software update), monthly (top-line results), and in quarterly and by-annual reviews.
Regarding digital media metrics, there is no agency covering the whole field. Although we don’t have relevant audience metrics, the media people, advertisers and journalists, use mostly Google Analytics or Chartbeat. The only available data regarding the audience ratings of Greek digital media are provided by Online Publishers Association (ENED) and only for its members.