4+ Individual
Auditel estimates viewings by all individuals aged 4 and older, Italian or non-Italian, legally residing in Italy. Each individual is classified as Member or Guest of an Auditel Household. Please note that Guests and Members are not divided into two different Universes, but are included in the same Universe instead.
4+ Universe
An estimate of the number and profile of Individuals aged 4 and older, legally residing in Italy, of Italian or non-Italian nationality. This estimate bases on the latest available Istat (Italian National Institute of Statistics) Census data, Auditel Basic Survey, and data from the Client Bases of requesting TV Platforms certified by Auditel (currently, only Sky Italia).
Active Devices (Average Minute)
It's the average of Active Devices for each one of the minutes included in the Time Period or Time Slot requested by the User. Being a deduplicated metric, Active Devices (Average Minute) cannot be added up (except for different Out-of-country and Device Types, which obviously don't risk being counted more than once).
Active Devices
The number of deduplicated Active Devices. Auditel currently provides the Number of Active Devices per single minute only, i.e. as the number of Devices which were Active even just for a fraction of a second within the given minute. Being a deduplicated metric, Active Devices cannot be added up (except for different Out-of-country and Device Types, which obviously don't risk being counted more than once).
Adv Content Type
Within Dynamic Advertising, it's possible to filter or divide “Pre-Roll”, “Mid-Roll”, and “Post-Roll” audience.
Advertising analyses
Analyses mainly focused on assessing the results of Advertising Campaigns and leading the Planning of new ones.
Advertising campaign
An Advertising Campaign (or just “Campaign”) is a set of advertising Slots which can include different channels and Auditel days, usually occupied by the same Subject, or sometimes by different Subjects referring to the same brand and Advertising Client.
Advertising Log
The part of a Log of a Linear Channel listing Advertising Slots. For each slot, Advertising Logs typically show the corresponding Advertising Campaign, the Advertising Subject, the advertised product, the Campaign’s client, etc.
Advertising Schedule
A set of one or more Advertising Slots. For example, an Advertising Schedule can show all records of an advertising campaign in a specific time period. Advertising Schedules can be extracted from Advertising Logs or, in some cases, directly defined by the User.
Advertising Subject
A specific advertising video clip, usually within an Advertising Campaign organised on more Slots.
Age
Please note that Age Groups are Expansion Targets, while the specific age is a Floating Target. Since the guests of Auditel Households are required to register, specifying their age group (in addition to their gender), the Auditel Golden Rule enables to create Targets with Guests based on age only if standard Age Groups are specified.
AMR
"Average Minute Rating". It's the average number of viewers (Individuals or TV Households) for all audience data within the User Request. It's the average of the number of viewers for each one of the single minutes included in a programme or time slot (or single seconds, considering identical audience for each second of each Auditel minute).
AMR-D
In OTT TV measurement, it's the equivalent to AMR, though it refers to Devices instead of Individuals or TV Households. It’s the ratio between TTS-D and Duration. For Linear Channels, Duration is the combination of the requested Time Period and Time Slot. For VOD Content and Dynamic Advertising, it’s the Content Duration.
Analogue TV
TV broadcast with analogue signals. In Italy, analogue TV was switched off on 4th July 2012.
Applications for Auditel Data Analysis
With these applications, created by Software Houses, Auditel data can be freely analysed for Publishing and/or for Advertising.
ASCR-D
Acronym for Average Stream Completion Rate – Digital. It’s used for VOD Content and Dynamic Advertising only, and it’s the ratio between ASD and Content Duration. It’s equal to 1 (or 100%) only when all streams reach the end of the On-Demand Content or Dynamic Commercial.
ASD
Acronym for Average Stream Duration. It’s the ratio between TTS-D and LS.
ATS
Acronym for Average Time Spent. It’s the ratio between TTS and Net Contacts, i.e. the average time spent by each individual or household watching a programme or channel / time slot, based on individuals or households which spent at least one minute watching that programme or channel / time slot.
ATV
Acronym for Average Time Viewed. It’s the ratio between TTS and Target Dimension. It’s an average viewing time calculated on a base of Individuals or Households including those who didn’t watch the given programme or channel / time slot for at least one minute. As a consequence, ATV is usually lower than ATS, and cannot be higher.
Audience Share
See Share
Audiomatching
It’s the main system Auditel uses to identify the viewed channels and content. The meter captures the TV audio and extracts specific components. The original audio cannot be recreated, but these components are compared to analogous components extracted from the audio of all monitored Linear Channels (both published and not published) in order to detect the Linear Channel which was actually viewed. The system can also identify Time-shifted Viewing.
Auditel Customer
A business or person that has entered into a Contract with Auditel to access its data within the Contract terms, conditions, and limits.
Auditel Day
For understandable reasons, the Auditel Day cannot end at midnight of each day, but it lasts until 2am of the following day instead. As a consequence, the Auditel Day is included within Auditel minute “0200” (within seconds 02:00:00 and 02:00:59 of the same day) and Auditel minute “2559” (within seconds 01:59:00 and 01:59:59 of the following day).
Auditel Golden Rule
A set of rules on how to use Auditel data, which must be applied by Software Houses to obtain homogeneous and correct results. For example, the Auditel Golden Rule regulates the R&F calculation model, which types of Targets are acceptable or not, etc.
Auditel Standard Data
Daily, weekly, or monthly reports by Auditel, available on the website Auditel.it or other media.
Auditel SuperPanel
Auditel People Meter Panel plus the Set Meter Panel together.
Average Frequency
The ratio between the number of Gross Contacts and the number of Net Contacts of an Advertising Campaign, calculated on the total 4+ population or on a specific Target. It’s the average number of Contacts for each individual who had at least one Contact.
Average Minute Rating
See AMR
Average Time Spent
See ATS
Average Time Viewed
See ATV
Average Viewers
See AMR
Basic Survey
It’s a big yearly sample survey on 20,000 households that uses the CAPI system. Its double aim is to define the Universes of TV Households and 4+ Individuals, and to create a reservoir of households from which a part of the SuperPanel Households can be extracted.
BlueRay
An optical disc, evolution of the DVD, which contains much more information than the DVD, so it’s suitable for HD TV content.
Break
On Linear Channels, a break is a sequence of TV ads interrupting an Editorial Content or broadcast between two different Editorial Contents.
Broadcaster
It can be referred to as “Player Owner”.
Broadcasters On Trial
Linear Channels, not included among the Broadcasters published minute by minute, whose publishers have requested to see audience data confidentially, for a limited trial period regulated by Auditel. The audience data of Broadcasters measured “On Trial” can be provided in a special version of the Elemental Data released to a Software House chosen by the Publisher, and/or with daily reports in standard format.
Broadcasters published minute by minute
Linear Channels included in the Elemental data, i.e. minute by minute, published daily by Auditel.
Broadcasters published monthly
Linear Channels (typically Local Broadcasters) not included in the Elemental Data, i.e. minute by minute, but whose audience is published in dedicated monthly Standard Reports.
Broadcasting Platform
A Broadcasting Platform (often just “Platform”) is a TV signal distribution mode using broadcasting modality. The Broadcasting Platforms currently measured by Auditel are DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television), DST (Digital Satellite Television), and IPTV (TV that uses the Internet Protocol). OTT TV (technically “Over-The-Top Television”, different from IPTV as the former uses an open and unmanaged platform) can also be considered a Broadcasting Platform.
Broadcasting Time (AKA Recording Time)
It only refers to Linear Channels and indicates the time when a TV content was broadcast (it coincides with Viewing Time only in case of Live viewing mode). The audience of Programmes and Ads has to be calculated on the Broadcasting Time.
Bureaux
See “Software House”
Cable TV
A system of broadcasting TV using a cable instead of radio waves (although this definition might include IPTV and OTT TV, the term “Cable TV” usually refers to dedicated systems, not common in Italy, often created before the arrival of the Internet Protocol).
CAPI
Computer Assisted Personal Interview. It’s a face-to-face type of interview in which the interviewer uses a PC to ask questions and record answers. This is the technology used in the Auditel Basic Survey.
Catalogue of On-Demand Content
See Library of On-Demand Content
Census Data
Unlike the data produced from a Panel or, more generally, from a statistical sample, Census Data are measured directly in their entirety. Auditel takes a census-based OTT TV viewing measurement thanks to the dedicated SDKs installed by Player Owners.
Circuit
Usually a group of Local Broadcasters which simulcast for some of the time. Two particular Italian Circuits are “Altre Digitali Terrestri” and “Altre Digitali Satellitari”, which exist for historical continuity.
City Size
Grouping based on the number of inhabitants of the city of residence: up to 10,000, 10-100,000, 100-250,000, >250,000. It’s an Expansion Target. The Auditel Golden Rule permits to create Targets with Guests based on City Size (assuming that guests come from the same city as the hosting household, or from a city of the same City Size).
Clip
See Part of Original Content
Compliant
Generally, metrics or targets are Compliant when they fully obey the Auditel Golden Rule, so they can be freely used for any external communications and business negotiations.
Compliant Target
A Demographic Target which fully obeys the Auditel Golden Rule, so it can be used for any external communications and business negotiations.
Consolidated Viewing
Consolidated Viewing at +X days includes Live viewing, VOSDAL, and from TSV+1 to TSV+X. For example, consolidated viewing +4 (the standard for linear advertising on the Italian market) includes Live, VOSDAL, TSV+1, TSV+2, TSV+3, and TSV+4.
Contacts
See “Gross Contacts” and “Net Contacts”. (The term “Contacts” itself can refer to both, with certain ambiguity).
Content Distribution Model
Within On-Demand Content, it’s possible (when the information is provided by Player Owners) to filter or separate viewings of Exclusive Online content (i.e. not available on Traditional TV), Online TV content (i.e. also available on Traditional TV), and Digital First content (i.e. available online for a short time before broadcasting on Traditional TV).
Content Duration
For On-Demand Content and Dynamic Advertising, it is the duration of the content, i.e. the maximum duration of the viewing net of pauses and rewinds. Content Duration is measured for each event through the SDK, so it is not necessarily constant (although variation is usually minor).
Content ID
It’s a unique code which identifies each On-Demand Content. It’s a 5-digit alphanumeric code, followed by a dot and the Content ID originally assigned by each Player Owner (the purpose of the alphanumeric code is to avoid the problem of two Player Owners using the same Content ID for different Contents).
Content Type
Within On-Demand Content, it is possible (when the information is provided by Player Owners) to filter or separate viewings of Full Content, Parts of Original Content (i.e. Clips), or Extra Content.
Coverage
See Reach (the words Coverage and Reach are basically synonyms, although they are sometimes used with different meanings. We can avoid confusion by specifying the type of Reach we are talking about: for example, Daily Average Reach, Weekly Reach, Reach 1+ of an Advertising Campaign, Reach 3+ of an Advertising Campaign, etc.).
Currency
When measuring media, a Currency is the “money” which is universally accepted on the market. Auditel wants to be, and actually is, the Currency for TV audience and TV advertising in Italy.
Deduplication
As a general rule, deduplication is a process which enables us to refer a specific number of occurrences to a specific number of individuals or households. For example, by deduplicating Advertising Gross Contacts, we can calculate Net Contacts (the number of individuals who viewed an Advertising Campaign at least once, or at least x times). In Cross-platform measurement (Traditional and OTT TV), for example, deduplication enables us to calculate the Net Contacts of an Advertising Campaign regardless of the Viewing Mode and the Device Type.
Demographic Target
A Target defined according to demographic characteristics (e.g. gender, age, reception of specific platforms, Pay TV subscription, etc.). It’s possible that some Individuals or Households are included in a Demographic Target for a limited period only (due to changes in age, jobs, number of Individuals in the Auditel Household)
Device
It’s the current unit of measurement of OTT TV. Please note that a “Device” doesn’t correspond to an Individual, as an Individual can normally use one or more Devices, and as TV content played on a Device at a specific time can be watched by one or more Individuals, or sometimes by none. The next Auditel system developments are going to turn the audience data referred to “Devices” to audience data referred to actual Individuals having a demographic profile and duly “Deduplicated” within both OTT and OTT and Traditional TV audience data.
Device Class
See Device Type
Device Type
Referring to OTT TV, the Device Types are: a) Mobiles, divided into Smartphones and Tablets, b) PCs, including Desktops, Laptops and some hybrid Laptops/Tablets, c) TV-connectable devices, including a variety of devices connectable to traditional TV sets, such as Game Consoles, Set-Top-Boxes and Mini-Set-Top-Boxes, etc. d) “Other” and “Undefined”.
Digital Devices
PCs, Tablets, Smartphones, and other devices which can be connected to the TV screen and can receive video content via web and play it.
Digital Switchover
The switching off of analogue TV in a whole country to migrate to digital TV. In Italy, it took place on 4th July 2012.
Digital TV
TV broadcast digitally. After the Switchover, Digital TV includes all the viewable TV in Italy (DTT, DST, IPTV, Web TV).
Distribution Platforms
In OTT TV, a Distribution Platform is an organic system for viewing Linear Channels and/or On-Demand Content. Each Distribution Platform is managed by a Player Owner, and usually has its own consumer brand, that is different from the brand of other Distribution Platforms, if any, of the same Player Owner.
D-SHARE
“Digital Share”. This metric is conceptually similar to Traditional TV Share, but also deeply different as the measurement of OTT TV only includes some of the Player Owners and Publishers (the collaboration of the measured subjects is essential here). It’s the ratio between the TTS-D of Linear Channels and/or On-Demand Content and/or Dynamic Ads, specified in the User Request, and the TTS-D of all the Linear Channels and/or On-Demand Content and/or Dynamic Ads measured, both calculated on Time Period, Time Slot, Device Type(s), Out-of-country, Content Type (Linear Channel / On-Demand Content / Dynamic Advertising), and Viewing Mode (Live, Time-shifted, On-Demand) if specified in the User Request.
DST or DSAT
Acronym for Digital Satellite Television (the satellite standard in Italy)
DTT
Digital Terrestrial Television (the only standard for TV signals received by traditional TV aerials in Italy).
DVD
“Digital Versatile Disc” (originally “Digital Video Disc”), an optic disc storage device.
DVD Player
Device able to reproduce a DVD and, usually, to send its signal to a TV screen.
DVDR
“DVD Recordable” or “DVD Rewritable”, an optic disc storage device writable or re-writable by the user.
DVR
Digital Video Recorder: a device which records the TV signal on an electronic storage device (typically a hard disk).
Dynamic Ads
Unlike static ads, these advertisements can differ for different viewers. In some cases, dynamic ads can replace the static ads planned in linear channels’ logs. Dynamic Ads include the X-Rolls of OTT TV (i.e. Pre-, Mid-, and Post-Rolls), but also other ways of replacing static advertising with dynamic ads, such Sky’s AdSmart system, that operates via Satellite.
Dynamic Target
A Target defined according to viewing behaviour (e.g. heavy viewers of a programme, viewers reached three or more times by an advertising campaign, etc.) or according to a combination of demographic characteristics and viewing behaviour. Unlike Demographic Targets, Dynamic Targets represent a definite group of Individuals or Households that don’t change with time (and that can leave the Panel without being automatically replaced with other Individuals or Households with the same characteristics).
Editing
An automatic process which improves the quality of the audience data collected, using transparent and shared criteria.
Editorial analyses
Analyses mainly focused on monitoring Programme audience for publishing.
Editorial Log
The part of a Log of a Linear Channel listing Editorial Contents, i.e. the Programmes. Logs of Linear Channels typically show the name of the Programme or part of a Programme, the genre, whether it’s a First- or Re-Run, etc.
Editorial Schedule
A set of one or more Editorial Slots. For example, an Editorial Schedule can include all the “runs” of a programme broadcast on one or more channels at different times, or a single “run”. Editorial Schedules can be extracted from Editorial Logs or, in some cases, directly defined by the User.
Education
The Education census categories are: None, Elementary, Middle, Secondary, University. It’s an Expansion Target.
Elemental Data
Every day at 10 a.m., unless any unexpected problems arise, Auditel releases the “Elemental Data” on Traditional TV to Software Houses. It is a file which contains audience data, minute by minute, of each household, member, and guest of the SuperPanel, measured on the previous Auditel Day, for all channels “published daily” (more than 200) and for the aggregate of the other channels measured but not published daily. Software Houses’ Applications use these data to meet Users’ Requests, matching them with Editorial or Advertising Logs when needed.
EPG
Electronic Programme Guide. List of the channels and programmes available on digital TV.
Expansion
The process which assigns “Expansion Factors” to each Auditel Household and Member daily, so that the sum of these weights matches with the corresponding Universe (Households or Individuals), and that the same can apply to each Expansion Target. Practically speaking, it’s a process that improves the quality of estimates, correcting inevitable imbalances of the Panel, not entirely controllable with the process of Recruitment and Forced Turnover.
Expansion Factor
It’s the “weight” that the Expansion process assigns to each Household or Member of the SuperPanel. As the Expansion process is performed daily, each Household’s or Member’s Expansion Factor slightly varies every day, in order to adjust possible imbalances due to the instability of the Panel.
Expansion Target
A Demographic Target used for the daily expansion process. As a consequence, the Dimension of an Expansion Target remains the same for a set period of time (that can include 12 Auditel months from August to July, or an Auditel quarter, etc.).
Export Tables of OTT TV data
The audience data of OTT TV, measured through SDKs at Device level, are exported daily to four Export Tables aggregated according to different criteria. Software Houses’ applications read these Tables and reaggregate the data in order to answer the different Users’ requests. In this phase, Export Tables have the same function for OTT TV as Elemental Data have for Traditional TV.
Extra Content
A (usually short) On-Demand content associated with a Full Content. Unlike Clips, an Extra Content is not extracted from the Full Content.
First Run
The first broadcast of an Editorial Content (opposite to Re-Runs). It is normally broadcast on a single Linear Channel, but in some cases it can be “simulcast” on more Linear Channels at the same time.
Floating Target
A target whose dimension, unlike an Expansion Target, can naturally vary day by day, since it is not fixed in expansion criteria. A floating target can also be generated when matching two Expansion Targets. For example, the number of women aged 25-34 and the number of Piedmont residents are Expansion Targets; nevertheless, the number of women aged 25-34 who live in Piedmont is a Floating Target, whose dimension can vary day by day.
Free-to-air
A Free-to-air Linear Channel is a channel which can be viewed without paying a subscription.
FTA
See Free-to-air
Full Content
When referring to On-Demand Content, a Full Content is a TV content in its entirety, usually without its original commercials.
Gender
Male / Female. It’s an Expansion Target. As the guests of Auditel Households are requested to register specifying their gender (in addition to age group), the Auditel Golden Rule enables to create Targets with Guests based on Gender.
Gross contacts (Advertising Content)
According to the Auditel Golden Rule, the Gross Contacts of an Advertising Slot are calculated by adding up the entire or partial contacts of that Slot. When the whole Slot is included in an Auditel minute, Gross Contacts are equal to AMR for that minute. When the Slot extends over two Auditel minutes, Gross Contacts are equal to the average AMR of those minutes, weighted by the number of seconds of the commercial included in each one of the two minutes. The Gross Contacts of a Campaign are simply obtained by adding up the Gross Contacts of each commercial of that Campaign.
Gross contacts (Editorial Content)
Gross contacts of a single run of an Editorial Content are calculated using a specific threshold for viewing duration, continuous or discontinuous, which is specified in the User Request (e.g. less than 1 minute, at least 10 continuous minutes, at least half the Broadcast duration regardless of continuity, etc.). The Gross Contacts of an Editorial Content, or set of Editorial Contents (e.g. a TV Series), are simply obtained by adding up the Gross Contacts of each Run of the given Editorial Content or set of Editorial Contents.
Gross Impacts
Synonym for “Gross Contacts” when referring to advertising.
GRPs
Abbreviation for Gross Rating Points. It’s used only for advertising content, and it’s equal to Gross Contacts divided by Target Dimension, multiplied by 100. The GRPs of a campaign are equal to the sum of the GRPs of the single Slots of the campaign.
Guests
The Guests of TV Households visit the Households occasionally, or live with them for less than 6 months a year anyway. Every day, within the People Meter, Guests are registered with their gender and age group, and are assigned a button of the Meter Remote to be identified when viewing content.
HD
High Definition. It’s a TV standard whose number of pixels and image quality are higher than Standard Definition (“SD”).
Households in Production
On a specific day, the households of the two panels whose data are received and pass the editing checks (duration of continuous viewing, correct use of the Meter Remote, etc.). Although the number of these households varies and is potentially subject to imbalances, the daily Expansion process guarantees that all Expansion Targets are correctly dimensioned, and that the panel is representative of the Household Universe and the 4+ Universe.
Households on holiday
Households’ viewings are not measured when outside the main housing unit. The households who leave their house for some days transmit this information to the meter with a dedicated button. In any case, checks are carried out by the collection centre when no audience data are received for some days.
Impacts
Synonym for “Contacts” when referring to advertising.
Individualisation model
It’s an advanced mathematical model which associates “Set Meter Panel” households’ viewing to the single members and guests of those households, based on viewing behaviours observed in the “People Meter Panel”. The aim of this model is to make sure that the number of viewers of a Linear Channel or Editorial Content, and their demographic profile, is consistent with the results of the People Meter Panel, adjusted according to the difference, between Set Meter Panel and People Meter Panel, in the number and profile of the TV Households viewing the Linear Channel or Editorial Content.
IPTV
Generally speaking, IPTVs are systems based on the Internet Protocol (“IP”) using a private network to provide a more stable service compared with OTT TV (Over The Top TV), which, instead, uses the same open and unmanaged network used, for instance, for e-mail and web browsing.
IR detection
It’s a function of the meter to receive and decode infrared signals from the TV remote.
JIC = Joint Industry Committee
A cross-check committee which includes all market players: advertising investors, media agencies, media centres, and publishers. Auditel is a JIC.
Job
Auditel divides Members of the Panel into the following categories: High-profile job, Medium-profile job, Self-employed, Executive job, Housewife, Retired, Unemployed, Child/Student. It’s an Expansion Target.
Legitimate Stream
It’s an OTT TV stream played and viewed for at least 300 milliseconds. Streams with a lower length aren’t actually measured, nor are included in any OTT TV metrics. (Also see LS).
Legitimate Streams Threshold
A minimum number of Legitimate Streams, currently set at 50 by Auditel. When an On-Demand Programme, or a set of Dynamic Ads, has less than 50 Legitimate Streams, all the corresponding metrics are blacked out, and replaced with an asterisk or another conventional sign.
Library of On-Demand Content
Basing on the data produced by each Player Owner, Auditel aggregates a Library (or “Catalogue”) of all On-Demand Contents. The Library contains information such as Content ID, Content Description, source Channel/Property, season and episode number, Content Type, Content Distribution Model, average Content Duration. In addition, the Library can include the Content ID of Full Contents associated to Clips and Extra Contents.
Linear
See Linear Channel
Linear channel
A “linear” channel is broadcast continuously, either all day long or for only a part of the day. The channel can be viewed live or time-shifted (i.e. when the Viewing Time comes after the Broadcasting Time). The audience of linear channel content is measured by using its TV Log and Viewing Time. This differs from On-Demand content libraries, for which there is a Viewing Time but not a Broadcasting Time, and a Catalogue but not a Log. (Attention: the channels “Sky On Demand HD” and “Sky On Demand SD” can be used as On-Demand channels but, technically, are broadcast via satellite as traditional linear channels and then offered to users as “time-shifted viewing”. Therefore, the Auditel system measures and treats them as linear channels.)
Live
See Live Viewing
Live Viewing
The viewing of a Linear Channel at the same time as broadcasting (net of technical delay due to signal transmission and reception, usually a matter of seconds).
Local Broadcasters
Linear Channels that are broadcast in a part of Italy (typically one or more provinces).
Log
It represents the sequence of the contents of a Linear Channel. It’s a sequence of Slots, where for each Slot we can find additional information including the Auditel Day and the Time Slot (see Editorial Log and Advertising Log). Logs are crucial to calculate the viewings of Programmes and Ads. They can be produced by independent companies or directly by the Channel Publisher.
Loyalty Index
It’s the ratio between AMR and Reach 1’+ of a programme or time slot, expressed as a percentage. It reaches 100% when all those who watched at least one minute of the programme watched the entire programme. It’s equal to 50% when those who watched at least 1 minute of the programme watched, on average, half of it. Etc.
LS
Number of Legitimate Streams. Please note that, for a specific Time Slot, the measurement only includes the Legitimate Streams which started during the time slot, and not the ones which had started before. For example, in minute-by-minute curves, the LSs of each minute represent the Legitimate Streams started between the beginning and the end of that minute. It can be applied indistinctively to Linear Channels, VOD Content, and Dynamic Advertising.
LS-DAILY-AVG
It’s the daily average number of Legitimate Streams. It’s the ratio between LSs and the number of days of the Time Period.
Main Household Shopper
In a Household, the Main Shopper is the person who decides which basic necessities to buy. For the sake of simplicity, Auditel identifies only one person in each TV Household. We also identify the Targets of the Main Household Shopper in employment, with children aged 0-3, 4-7, and 8-14.
Members
Individuals who live in an Auditel Household for at least 6 months a year, even if not continuously. The census categories for the Members of all Auditel Households are: Age, Gender, Education, Job, and Nationality (Italian or non-Italian). In the People Meter Panel, each Member is assigned a dedicated button of the Meter Remote, so that they can identify themselves when viewing content.
Meter
See “People Meter” and “Set Meter”
Mid-Roll
A Dynamic Ad (X-Roll) which is inserted during the viewing of an On-Demand Content or a linear channel.
Mobile (Device type)
Smartphones and Tablets
National Broadcasters
Linear Channels that are broadcast across all Italy (including channels broadcasting local programmes for some of the time, such as RAI 3).
Nationality of Households
Since 4th August 2013. Non-Italians only, Italians only, mixed. It’s an Expansion Target.
Nationality of Individuals
Since 4th August 2013. Italian or non-Italian (only the non-Italians legally residing in Italy are included in the Universe). It’s an Expansion Target.
NBD
Acronym for Negative Binomial Distribution. It’s a casual variable whose distribution adapts well to the typical distribution of the R&F of Advertising Campaigns and Programmes.
NBD Simple Model
See “R&F Calculation Model”
Net Contacts (Advertising Content)
For each Campaign, Net Contacts are an estimate of the number of individuals who watched at least one commercial of the Campaign. This metric is equal to “Reach1+” for the same Campaign. According to the Auditel Golden Rule, this estimate is obtained with a specific R&F calculation model (see dedicated entry).
Net Contacts (Editorial Content)
For each Editorial Content which is broadcast more than once, or for each set of Editorial Contents, Net Contacts are an estimate of the number of individuals who watched at least a single Run of the Editorial Content or set of Editorial Contents. This metric is equal to “Reach1+”. According to the Auditel Golden Rule, this estimate is obtained with a specific R&F calculation model (see dedicated entry). For a single Run, Net Contacts are equal to Gross Contacts.
Net Impacts
Synonym for “Net Contacts” used in advertising.
New SES
Socio-Economic Status, second version. Officially used as expansion target until 28th July 2018. Available as floating target and subject to specific usage restrictions until 29th December 2018. For more details, see auditel.it/regole_cse.
Non-Compliant
A metric or target is "non-compliant” when, for one or more reasons, it doesn’t follow the Auditel Golden Rule. The use of these metrics or targets can be allowed only for study purposes within a specific company.
Non-Compliant Target
A Demographic Target which doesn’t obey the Auditel Golden Rule, so it can only be used for study purposes in a single company. For example, the targets defined according to Households’ characteristics (e.g. Sky Subscription) including possible Guests (Guests don’t necessarily belong to Households with a Sky Subscription) are Non-Compliant Targets.
Non-published Broadcasters
Linear Channels whose audience is measured by Auditel (so that the “TV total” is measured correctly) but whose Publisher hasn’t requested the publication.
Number of Active Devices
See Active Devices
Number of Members
The number of Members of a TV Household, i.e. the number of persons who live in the same housing unit for at least six months a year, even if not continuously. Household groups are: 1 member, 2 members, 3 members, 4 members, and 5 members or more. It’s an expansion target.
On-Demand Content
This way of watching content is not linked to Linear Channels. On-Demand Content has a Viewing Time (the time when the content is watched by viewers) but not a Broadcasting Time (the time when the content is broadcast).
On-demand Viewing
The viewing of on-demand content, i.e. content from a library out of linear Logs.
OTS
= Opportunity To See, a unit of measurement normally used to express the Average Frequency of a Campaign.
OTT Auditel Golden Rule
A part of the Auditel Golden Rule specifically dedicated to the treatment of OTT TV data. It defines the calculation of all the metrics obtainable from OTT data, and, for instance, it specifies that, in this phase, OTT audience data cannot be added up to traditional TV audience data, as the basic unit differs (number of “Devices” in the first case, number of Households or Individuals in the second case).
OTT TV
Generally speaking, Over-The-Top TVs are systems based on the Internet Protocol (“IP”) which use the same open and unmanaged network used, for instance, for e-mail or web browsing, unlike IPTVs which use a private network.
Out-of-country
Auditel measures the viewing of OTT TV from outside Italy. It’s not measured on Traditional TV. The User can filter or divide viewing from Italy, from other EU countries, and from non-EU countries.
Panel
It’s a sample of households or individuals used for continuous survey. Auditel uses its panels to measure Traditional TV and to “profile” and “deduplicate” OTT TV viewing. Auditel has created and maintains two types of Panels: a People Meter Panel, composed of 5,700 households, and a Set Meter Panel, composed of 10,300 households. Together, these two Panels make the Auditel “SuperPanel”.
Panel Turnover
The TV Households of a Panel are subject to Turnover for two reasons: Forced Turnover, imposed by the need to renovate the panel periodically and keep it balanced, or Spontaneous Turnover, when Households leave the Panel by choice and not because asked to by Auditel. The effects of this Turnover on the R&F are adjusted with the R&F Calculation Model, based on NBD.
Part of Original Content
With reference to On-Demand Content, a Part of Original Content, or “Clip”, is a portion of a TV content.
Pay channels
Channels which can only be watched by viewers who have paid a subscription or have promotional access.
Pay-per-view
It’s a viewing mode for which each content is paid for by the user separately. It can be applied to a single content of a linear channel (for example, a football match on a sports channel) or a single On-Demand content (for example, a film selected from a library).
PC (Device type)
Desktops and Laptops (and some hybrid Laptops/Tablets)
People Meter
This device, which takes passive measurement of the activity of a TV set, has got a display and a remote, so that viewers can register when they watch that TV.
People Meter Panel
A Panel of TV Households in which each TV in the main house unit is measured by a People Meter, and Members and Guests have to register when they watch TV.
People Meter Remote
A remote used by Panel Members or Guests to identify themselves when watching TV.
Planning
The process of selecting the Slots of an Advertising Campaign, in order to maximise the communication aims set by the client of the Campaign.
Player Owner
A company which owns and/or manages one or more digital Distribution Platforms.
Polling
Night process (from 2am) when meters send the audience data collected during the Auditel Day.
Post-evaluation
The calculation of the results of an Advertising Campaign based on the Campaign Target, expressed as GRP, Average Frequency, R&F, etc.
Post-Roll
A Dynamic Ad (X-Roll) inserted at the end of an On-Demand Content.
Pre-Roll
A Dynamic Advertising (X-Roll) inserted before an On-Demand content or when the user starts viewing a linear channel.
Prime Time
The TV “peak” time. In Italy, the Prime Time officially starts at 20:30:00 and ends at 22:29:29, but the use of the Prime Time included between 21:00:00 and 22:59:59 has been gradually increasing.
Publisher
In the Auditel system, a Publisher is a company or a company division which owns one or more Linear Channels, and/or operates one or more On-Demand Content libraries identified by a brand, distributed via a Digital Platform.
PVR
Personal Video Recorder: synonym for DVR
R&F
Acronym for “Reach And Frequency”. All the “Reaches” of an Advertising Campaign, or of an Editorial Schedule, calculated with several Frequency levels: Reach 1+ (number or percentage of Individuals who watched at least one Ad or at least one Run), Reach 2+ (number or percentage of Individuals who watched at least two Ads or at least two Runs), and so on.
R&F Calculation Model
It’s a mathematical model that calculates the R&F (Reach-And-Frequency) of an Advertising Campaign, an Editorial Content, or a set of Editorial Contents, on the Auditel SuperPanel. The model is based on the NBD (Negative Binomial Distribution) casual variable. First, it calculates the R&F curve on the People Meter Panel, correcting the effects of unbalances of the same Panel. Then, it adapts the curve to the Gross Contacts calculated on the entire SuperPanel.
Reach
The Reach can be expressed as an absolute number or as a percentage. In the first case, it’s equal to Net Contacts. In the second case, it’s the ratio between Net Contacts and Target Dimension.
Regions
Italy’s twenty administrative regions. It’s an Expansion Target. The Auditel Golden Rule allows to create Targets with Guests based on the Region (so assuming that guests come from the same region of the hosting Household).
Re-run
One of the rebroadcasts of an Editorial Content after its First Run. It can be broadcast on the same Linear Channel as the First Run, or on a different one.
Run
A Slot of a Linear Channel containing a programme and its advertising content, if any. Some Editorial Contents only have a single Run on a single Linear Channel, while others have a First Run and one or more Re-runs on one or more Linear Channels.
SD
Standard Definition. It’s still the most used TV standard. It has less pixels and a lower image quality than HD.
SDK
Software Developer Kit. It’s an application Player Owners add to their Apps for viewing digital TV content. SDKs send census audience data to Auditel.
SES3.0
Socio-Economic Status, third version. It replaced the “New SES” on 29th July 2018. It defines five categories: High, Medium/high, Medium, Medium/low, Low. It’s an Expansion Target. For more details, go to auditel.it/regole_cse.
Set Meter
A device for the passive recording of the activity of a TV (unlike the People Meter, it hasn’t got a display nor a remote).
Set Meter Panel
A Panel of TV Households in which each TV in the main house unit is measured by a Set Meter. For the sake of simplicity and scalability, Members and Guests are not required to register when watching TV (unlike in the People Meter Panel).
Set-Top-Box or STB
A device connected to a TV that can have one or more functions: receiving and decoding a satellite or digital terrestrial signal, recording video contents and make them available for viewing, pausing/rewinding/fast-forwarding, downloading On-Demand content via Internet, etc.
Share
It’s the ratio between the TTS of the Channel or Channels specified in the User Request and the TTS of the TV Total, both calculated on the Time Period, Time Slot, Target, Viewing Mode, etc. specified in the User Request, multiplied by 100. Share can be calculated on both Broadcasting Time and Viewing Time, but the Share of a Programme can be only calculated on its Broadcasting Time. Obviously, Share can be calculated on AMR, ATV, or TVR instead of TTS, obtaining the same result.
SI codes
A Meter function for receiving signal directly from the Set-Top-Box connected to the device, identifying the channel and the broadcasting time through a shared protocol certified by third parties. In Italy, this system is used to record the activity of Sky’s STBs directly.
Simulcast
When more Linear Channels broadcast the same content at the same moment, with identical audio. In this case, in the absence of SI codes, the system chooses one of the Linear Channels eligible for Audiomatching basing on IR detection or on the total viewing of the previous day or time periods.
Skippable
A Dynamic Ad is Skippable when it can be interrupted by the viewer before it ends.
Slot
A unique combination of Linear Channel, Auditel Day, and Time Slot. It applies to both Programmes and Ads.
Software Houses
Agencies that sign specific contracts with Auditel to enable its Users to access the elemental data through dedicated Applications.
Source Channel / Property
The channel where an On-Demand Content comes from, or the channel to which the Player Owner assigned it. It can be a Linear Channel or a set of contents defined by the Player Owner.
Standard Age Groups
Standard Age Groups are: 04/05, 07/09, 10/14, 15/19, 20/24, 11/14, 15/19, 20/24, 25/34, 35/44, 45/54, 55/64, 65/69, 70/74, 75+. These Age Groups are Expansion Targets. Since the guests of Auditel Households are required to register, specifying their age group (in addition to their gender), the Auditel Golden Rule enables to create Targets with Guests based on standard Age Groups.
Static Ads
The traditional TV commercials broadcast by Linear Channels, which can be later identified thanks to the channel Log.
SVOD
Subscription Video On Demand. A subscription service to watch the content of an On-Demand Library for a set period of time.
Target
A group of Households, Members, or Members + Guests, defined according to demographic characteristics (Demographic Target), viewing behaviour (Dynamic Target), or both.
Target Dimension
The Dimension of a Target is the sum of the Expansion Factors of the Members or Households included in the Target. It represents an estimate of the number of Individuals or Households that have the same characteristics within the Universe. In particular, for Expansion Targets, the Target Dimension corresponds exactly to the dimension of the same Target in the Universe estimated by Auditel, while the correspondence is approximate for Floating Targets.
Target Sample Number
In a specific Time Period, it’s the average daily number of Panel Members or Panel Households that are included in the Target. This number can vary daily due to the instability of the Panel and the Turnover of the Panel. Nevertheless, the daily Expansion process neutralises the effects of this variability, so that the Target Dimension remains stable (this applies to Expansion Targets as well as, less precisely, Floating Targets).
Time Period
A set of Auditel Days, continuous or not, defined in the User Request.
Time Slot
A set of minutes within an Auditel Day (for example, 2030-2229 = 120 minutes), or a set of seconds within an Auditel Day (for example, 202857-202926 = 30 seconds). In the second case, the software will consider all the seconds of the same Auditel minute as having identical audience data.
Time-shifted Viewing
The viewing of a Linear Channel after the actual broadcasting, since a) the user had previously recorded the content, or b) the user pressed “pause” or “rewind”, or c) the system automatically recorded a content and re-proposed it to the user (e.g. Sky On Demand’s personalised content), or d) the user downloaded an on-demand content which had been broadcast on a Linear Channel previously on the same day or in the previous seven days. The time-shifted viewing is recognised by the system through audiomatching.
Total Time Spent
See TTS
Total Time Spent – D
See TTS-D
Traditional TV
Traditional TV refers to all viewings on TV screens. In Italy, the most used platforms are DTT, DST, and IPTV
TSV+1 … TSV+7
TSV = “Time-shifted Viewing”. Time-shifted viewing of a linear channel viewed “+X” Auditel Days after broadcasting and recording. If a content is recorded on Auditel Day Tuesday (between 2am of Tuesday and 1:59am of Wednesday) and viewed on the following Auditel Day Thursday (between 2am of Thursday and 1:59am of Friday), it will be classified as TSV+2.
TTS
Acronym for Total Time Spent. The sum of the time that each Individual or Household spent viewing the editorial or advertising content specified in the User Request. For instance, if 1M Individuals viewed an average of 10 minutes of a programme, TTS is equal to 10,000,000 minutes, or 600,000,000 seconds. Although TTS isn’t used much as a metric for Traditional TV per se (unlike OTT TV), it’s the base for other metrics such as AMR, ATV, and ATS.
TTS-D
Acronym for “Total Time Spent – Digital”. For each Device, it’s the sum of all the seconds of viewing of the editorial or advertising content specified in the User Request. It’s the equivalent to TTS for Traditional TV, but it refers to a Device, not to an Individual or Household.
TTS-D-DAILY-AVERAGE
The daily average of TTS-D. It’s equal to TTS-D divided by the number of days of the Time Period.
TV Household
A group of individuals, of Italian or non-Italian nationality, who legally reside in Italy and live in the same housing unit for at least six months a year, even if not continuously. Please note that this definition doesn’t include kinship, emotional, or any other relationships. Also note that some “TV Households” don’t actually have a traditional TV set (but some of them have got digital devices to watch TV content).
TV Household Universe
An estimate of the number of members and structure of TV Households, defined as groups of (Italian or non-Italian) persons legally residing in Italy and sharing the same housing unit for at least six months a year, even if not continuously (See “TV Household”). This estimate bases on the latest available Istat (Italian National Institute of Statistics) Census data, Auditel Basic Survey, and data from the Client Bases of requesting TV Platforms certified by Auditel (currently, only Sky Italia).
TV Rating
See TVR
TV-connectable devices (Device Type)
A variety of devices connectable to traditional TV screens, including Game Consoles, Set-Top-Boxes and Mini-Set-Top-Boxes, etc.
TVR
Acronym for TV Rating. It’s the ratio between AMR and Target Dimension, multiplied by 100. TVR is usually lower than Share, as the Target also includes the Individuals or Households that were not watching TV in the time period and time slot requested by the User.
Unskippable
A Dynamic Ad that cannot be stopped by the viewer before it ends.
User
Someone using the Applications for analysing Auditel’s data.
User Request
It’s a set of parameters specified by the user of a software, or by the designer of a report. It can include the Time Period, Time Slot, Viewing Modes, a group of Linear Channels, an editorial or advertising Schedule, etc. For Traditional TV, it can also include a Target, the room where the TV is watched, the TV set dimension, etc. For OTT TV, it can include the Device Type, the Content Type (Linear/VOD/Dynamic Advertising), the Country where viewing is measured (Italy/Europe/Others), etc.
Viewability
In a strict sense, the possibility that an advertising content played on a digital screen will be actually displayed. This is particularly relevant when measuring OTT TV viewing, as full-screen mode isn’t necessarily the norm.
Viewing Mode
The main Viewing Modes are: a) Live Viewing, only possible for Linear Channels b) Time-shifted Viewing, divided into VOSDAL and TSV+x, also only possible for Linear Channels c) On-Demand Viewing, the only possible mode for On-Demand Content.
Viewing Time (AKA Playback Time)
It can refer to both Linear Channels and On-Demand Content and indicates the time when a TV content was actually viewed (in the case of Live viewing of Linear Channels, it coincides with Broadcasting Time). The audience of Channels or Time Slots can refer to the Broadcasting Time or to the Viewing Time with different meanings (in the first case, for example, calculating the audience of Programmes broadcast during Prime Time on Linear Channel X, even if recorded and viewed later, and, in the second case, calculating the audience of the content of Linear Channel X viewed during Prime Time, even if previously recorded).
VOD
Video On-Demand
VOSDAL
Viewing On Same Day As Live. Time-shifted viewing of a Linear Channel viewed on the same Auditel day as broadcasting and recording.
Weight
See Expansion Factor
Weighting
See Expansion
X-Roll
General term for Pre-, Mid-, and Post-Roll. It the equivalent to Dynamic Ad.