Dear MIC:

The members of the Winnipeg Media Directors Council (WMDC) have been informed through BBM, Nielsen and the press about the merger between BBM and Nielsen, which will result in one electronic TV measurement system. The WMDC welcomes the fact that this will lead to one single data source for the market. The fact that this probably could lead to an increase in the national electronic TV panel and the addition of a few cities to the current list of cities (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ontario regional and National) is for the WMDC an occasion to emphasize the needs of the Winnipeg market. As one of the towns with more than 600,000 inhabitants we are convinced that both agencies and advertisers need to have the possibility to get a better TV audience measurement system, replacing the current diary system. A diary system with 2 surveys based on 7-8 weeks is insufficient for this market as the planned and bought ratings cannot be representative of the actual achieved ratings. The addition of Winnipeg to the measured cities would benefit both the national and ‘Prairie’ advertisers, as Winnipeg would also represent the viewing habits of the Prairie Provinces.

This is also the occasion for the WMDC to express its concerns in the way measurements are done in Canada. The WMDC have 2 members with a European media buying background where commercial ratings are measured in contrast to program ratings. As BBM and Nielsen use basically the same technology as in Europe the WMDC underlines the importance of the fact that advertisers and agencies in Canada are entitled to a better source of information than currently has been given to them. The reason the TV stations are reluctant to change the system is their fear that advertisers and agencies will be able to see the fluctuation of the audience ratings, which would presumably lead to a demand for lower prices. This however, is not necessarily true as advertisers/agencies will be willing to pay more for commercial breaks that prove to score better than the average audience of a program.

As representatives for the Winnipeg market the WMDC would like to emphasize its position in favor of a better TV audience measurement system within the new BBM/Nielsen merged activities. We therefore hope our concerns and interest in an electronic TV measurement system for Winnipeg will be taken into consideration.

Sincerely,

Koen Reynaert

Vice-President

The Winnipeg Media Directors Council