A single standard
shared
by the market

Joint Industry
Committee

Auditel has adopted the governance model recognized as the most advanced worldwide: it is the Joint Industry Committee (JIC), a mixed-control organization that brings together all TV market players, namely broadcasters, advertising investors, media agencies, and media centres. The market component governs the majority of our Board of Directors, while broadcasters play a surveillance role.

Thanks to this governance model and the collaboration between the parts – operating for a common interest, and whose choices are never tainted by convenience – Auditel unites all its components around the idea of mutual responsibility. This results in a quick decision-making process, which is nowadays crucial in order to identify and face the transformations brought about by a constant technological and regulatory evolution of the multimedia reality.  Our mission is to measure and provide data depicting 24/7 and minute by minute, the entire digital, satellite, live and on-demand TV offer on all platforms and devices. A necessary (and monitored) task, as these data – at the core of advertising analyses and planning – express a currency, that is the unit of measurement used by all market players to assess return on investment in publishing and advertising.

Regulatory
compliance

The whole Auditel measurement process is trackable. Its algorithms and processing protocols are accessible and held in escrow: certified reproduction of the audience data by external auditors can take place at any time. But there’s more. Our activity is deeply rooted in the Italian regulatory framework and monitored by the Communications Regulatory Authority (AgCom). In consideration of its special responsibility and the sensitivity of its task, Auditel also cooperates closely with the Antitrust Authority (Agcm) and the Data Protection Authority (Privacy) at European and Italian level.

Regulatory framework

Auditel is deeply rooted in the Italian regulatory framework. Its activity is supervised by the Communications Regulatory Authority (AgCom) and constantly monitored by the Antitrust Authority and the Data Protection Authority. Auditel has engaged in, and aims at maintaining, a continuous dialogue with the three Authorities as guarantee for its activity and thus for the TV market. Our activity is supervised by the Communications Regulatory Authority (AgCom), that – according to law 249 of 1997 – “oversees audience and media distribution indexes measurement; verifies the surveys on audience and media distribution indexes carried out by other entities, validating the accuracy of methods and the truthfulness of the published data, as well as the measurement of TV programmes and the activity of the companies conducting the surveys”. The following words from the AgCom website give you an idea of the extent of its surveillance activity: “The subjects performing surveys on audience and media distribution indexes are required to submit a note containing the following basic information for each survey: the general data of the company conducting the survey; the methodology; the size of the sample; the measurement methods and the margin of error, if any, for each category; the measurement period; the cost for accessing each measurement service; the website address or details of where the document explaining the whole methodology can be found”.  Auditel has fulfilled this obligation with a note – available as PDF on the AgCom website – detailing its activity. But there’s more. Thanks to the increasing competition within such a sensitive field as the media – and to the Joint Industry Committee (JIC) model –  Auditel can provide the market with a unique and recognised currency, fully complying with the regulations on competition set by Agcm,  which monitors our activity in relation to competition and market rules together with AgCom. Finally, Auditel has been supported by the European and the Italian Data Protection authorities in implementing strict privacy measures fully complying with the new European General Data Protection Regulation (Gdpr) when conducting new censuses. The guarantees offered by Auditel are so reliable that its data – together with other parameters – are among the factors considered by the Ministry for Economic Development to set the access criteria for publishers to the Fund for pluralism and information innovation. In addition, our data will soon be used as a requirement for accessing funding for the digitalisation and the technological innovation of publishers. Maintaining close coordination with the Authorities, it is our aim to be the first Big Data manager to guarantee that data are treated responsibly and ethically, basing collection and treatment activities on a regulated, transparent and monitored system in sharp contrast to other unregulated and unsustainable models.