Ipsos partners with Tvbeat to measure TV and online audiences in New Zealand
Ipsos announced on October 19, 2026 a partnership with Tvbeat, a television technology provider, to implement a new audience measurement system in New Zealand. The system is designed to combine linear television audiences and those from online streaming platforms within a single framework.
A common measurement system for two New Zealand broadcasters
The agreement covers the delivery of a new "Audience Measurement System" (AMS) for broadcasters TVNZ and Sky in New Zealand. Both partners present the initiative as a step towards unified audience measurement, covering linear television and online-streamed television.
The roles are divided between the two companies. Tvbeat provides its "Total TV" platform and its expertise. Ipsos supplies independent audience research and calibration, through its "Establishment Survey" and its MediaCell panel.
Broadcaster data combined with an independent panel
The system will combine proprietary viewing data, collected at scale on the television and online distribution platforms of TVNZ and Sky, with independent audience research conducted at the individual level. The stated objective is to obtain a representative view of audiences, regardless of the platform and device used.
The intended users are broadcasters, advertisers and agencies, who must have access to a vision considered more complete and more consistent of audiences.
Forecasting, planning and evaluation of advertising campaigns
Beyond measurement, the partners indicate that the initiative should enable the use of this data for forecasting, planning and evaluation of campaigns, and ultimately for advertising activation across multiple platforms.
For Dan Wong-Chi-Man, head of Ipsos's global audience measurement service line, the combination of large-scale broadcaster data and panel measurement aims to "understand the real behavior of people behind the screen". Robert Farazin, founder and chief executive officer of Tvbeat, believes that measurement is "only the starting point".
Carin Hercock, director of Ipsos in New Zealand, emphasizes for her part that the evolution of viewing behaviors requires a measurement system offering "trust, transparency and a shared understanding of audiences" between broadcast and online distribution.
