BARB audience measurement service changes from January

The new panel will be the same size as the previous one, representing about 11,500 individuals in 5,100 homes, but is said to "better represent the UK television household population".

There will be more comprehensive ethnic profiles and improved representation by multi-platform homes, as well as metropolitan, urban and rural populations.

The changes to the panel design will be accompanied by new methodologies and an improved geographical remit that promises to eradicate regional commercial overlapping areas that had originally been defined by analogue terrestrial reception.

Bjarne Thelin, chief executive of BARB, said the new service is set up and ready to provide the industry with "gold standard" currency.

"Much of the new system is similar in concept to the current one, but there are important changes," he said.

"While BARB 2010 won't be a radically different service at the outset, flexibility for the future has been created by changes in structure and methodology."

He stressed that the service continually evolves and already includes the ability to monitor devices for on-demand playback (such as games consoles, PCs, set-top boxes and other devices) where they are viewed through a TV set.

He said specific PC and laptop viewing solutions continue to be evaluated and, following much development by suppliers, hoped a test panel could soon be created.

In December 2007, BARB awarded four, new six-year contracts for the provision of research services that would support the BARB service from January 2010 to RSMB, Ipsos MORI and TNS.

In the two years since the award of the contracts, BARB has worked with its new contractors to establish the panel and every aspect of the new service has been closely monitored. 

In 2010, BARB will be reporting approximately 300 itemised channels - channels that broadcasters request to be reported. All other channels are grouped together with their viewing combined and reported as "other viewing".

BARB has been reporting UK television audiences since 1981 and is owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BSkyB and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.