September 2, 2009

NDS Announces Granular Audience Measurement

In anticipation of IBC2009, NDS has made three announcements.

NDS and TNS Media Research have enhanced their joint TV audience measurement offering, adding the ability to identify individual viewers in homes that have agreed to participate. The RPDi solution is based on the NDS Dynamic audience measurement system and TNS’ RaPiDView analysis service. An application prompts viewers to identify themselves by their first name, using their remote control, and allows users to add any additional guests watching TV alongside them. The service only measures audience viewing in those homes that have agreed to participate through an opt-in process.

NDS has also announced EPG Framework, an end-to-end infrastructure to enable operators to design, deploy and manage their own electronic program guides (EPGs). EPG Framework allows operators to update the EPG on-the-fly without having to download software to the set-top box. They can incorporate seasonal promotions, advertisements and sponsorships in the EPG.

Finally, NDS has teamed up with ACCESS Systems Europe Holdings to bring pay-TV and free-to-air (FTA) channels to connected TVs without the need for a set-top box. The companies will integrate the NDS InfiniteTV hybrid content platform with ACCESS’ NetFront Browser, allowing consumers to view traditional linear channels, catch-up TV, and on-demand content through a single user interface. ACCESS’ NetFront Browser will be pre-installed on connected TVs from a number of manufacturers and are expected to be available in Europe and the United States in 2010.