Benchmark for anonymous video analytics

Out-of-home audience measurement aims to count and characterize the people exposed to advertising content in the physical world. While audience measurement solutions based on computer vision are of increasing interest, no commonly accepted benchmark exists to evaluate and compare their performance. In this paper, we propose the first benchmark for digital out-of-home audience measurement that evaluates the vision-based tasks of audience localization and counting, and audience demographics. The benchmark is composed of a novel, dataset captured at multiple locations and a set of performance measures. Using the benchmark, we present an in-depth comparison of eight open-source algorithms on four hardware platforms with GPU and CPU-optimized inferences and of two commercial off-the-shelf solutions for localization, count, age, and gender estimation. This benchmark and related open-source codes are available at http://ava.eecs.qmul.ac.uk.

Media Concentration in Spain: National, sectorial, and regional groups

In Spain, the media market structure is made up of very different media groups, making it necessary to identify and classify them in a clear and coherent manner. To do so, this article collects secondary information from media companies’ websites and from audience measurement institutions. Results identify 50 media groups with activity in the Spanish market. They are classified into three categories according to the type of outlet, including national, sectorial, and regional. The current structure is based on recent developments in the last four decades of democracy among newspapers, magazines, radio, television and digital media.

When Data and Intuition Converge

How is it that, in an age of sophisticated audience data, there continue to be widespread uncertainty and inconsistency throughout the news industry surrounding what people want and expect from news? This chapter explores this question by examining the relationship of journalists with audience measurement data. While the previous chapter examined the differences within journalism’s imagined audiences, this chapter explores the origins of journalism’s imagined audiences. In doing so, it identifies the way these differences emerge—and, more importantly, how they persist—in an increasingly data-driven news culture. The author’s overarching argument is that audience measurement data are neither as straightforward nor comprehensive as the discourse surrounding them suggests. Instead, these data continue to leave ample room for interpretation, and the interpretations vary from one journalist to the next.

The Obstacles to Audience Engagement

This chapter explores the challenges that journalists face as they attempt to more meaningfully practice audience engagement. The first is that, at a moment when the news industry’s financial stability is far from guaranteed, it is difficult to empirically demonstrate that engaged journalism yields an economic benefit. This is primarily because of the limitations of audience measurement data, which tend to privilege measures of exposure above all else—such as more qualitative measures of audience preferences or reactions. The second challenge stems from the reality that the pursuit of engaged journalism—and the more explicit awareness of the audience that it entails—can lead journalists to ethical dilemmas as they grapple with who they are writing about, who they are writing for, and what to do when those two groups diverge. Finally, those who pursue more meaningful and deliberate efforts to communicate and collaborate with their audiences increasingly must reckon with unexpected and unwelcome outcomes.

The Impact of Audience Measurement Institutions on Local Media. Study of the Catalonian Case

This paper describes the changes in audience data concerning newspapers and magazines that are part of the Catalonian Association of Local Press —ACPC—, resulting from the transformation of the Communication and Culture Barometer into the EGM Catalonian Barometer. These two studies were prepared by the Communication and Culture Audiences Foundation —FUNDACC—, a non-profit organisation whose management was largely controlled by a scientific board, their primary purpose being to provide audience and cultural consumption data in Catalan-speaking territories, uninfluenced by communication companies’ interests. FUNDACC’s objective was to provide an alternative to the data provided by the Association for Media Research —AIMC— and the EGM General Media Study—, believed to be subject to the control of media groups with state-wide business interests. This methodological transition resulted in the invisibility of many of the publications that constitute the fabric of local media in the Catalan-speaking territories and it considerably affected its results. The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact of institutional and methodological factors in audience measurement on the transformation of a communication space. L’impacte de les institucions de mesurament d’audiències en els mitjans locals. Estudi del cas català Aquest article descriu els canvis en les dades d’audiència de les revistes que formaven part de l’Associació Catalana de la Premsa Comarcal (ACPC), com a conseqüència de la transformació del Baròmetre de la Comunicació i la Cultura en l’EGM Baròmetre Catalunya. Aquests dos estudis eren elaborats per la Fundació Audiències de la Comunicació i la Cultura (FUNDACC), una institució sense ànim de lucre amb una direcció controlada majoritàriament per un patronat científic, que tenia com a objectiu principal oferir dades d’audiència i de consums culturals dels territoris de parla catalana, independents dels interessos particulars de les empreses de comunicació. L’objectiu de FUNDACC era presentar una alternativa a les dades aportades per l’Asociación para la Investigación de Medios de Comunicación (AIMC) i l’Estudio General de Medios (EGM), que es creien sotmeses al control dels grups de comunicació amb interessos de negoci d’abast estatal. El teixit de mitjans locals als territoris de parla catalana es va veure molt afectat per aquesta transició metodològica, que va provocar la invisibilització de moltes de les capçaleres que en formaven part. L’objectiu d’aquest article és explicar quin és l’impacte dels factors institucionals i metodològics del mesurament de les audiències en la transformació d’un espai de comunicació. Key words: audience measurement, audience measurement institutions, audience economics, media systems, local media Paraules clau: mesurament d’audiències, institucions de mesurament d’audiències, economia de l’audiència, sistemes mediàtics, mitjans locals.

New audience dimensions in streaming platforms: the second life of Money heist on Netflix as a case study

The growth in popularity of on-demand content consumption, boosted by large global agents such as Netflix, Amazon and HBO, has brought audience fragmentation even further. Exponential growth in the content available to users (which reduces viewer concentration based on a limited selection), its commercialisation through a subscription-based business model (removing advertising from content) and the boom in consumption on different receivers, many of them mobile or outside the home (thus complicating people meter monitoring), has generated a new ecosystem where success can no longer be assessed using traditional audience measurement systems. This article discusses audience behaviour in streaming platforms and the new dimensions used to measure the success of a television series, above and beyond data provided by television audience measurement (TAM) techniques. From this analysis, the article reviews the transformation in the concept of popularity and how new audience indicators affect the structure of the content distribution medium, which adds further dimensions (engagement, customer retention, talent acquisition, new subscriptions and branding, among others) to more traditional elements (advertisers and international sales). Finally, we examine whether a single concept of audience, valid for all consumption models and audiovisual operations, can be established. Money heist is used as a case study, as it provides a good example of two ways of understanding audience: one linked to its commercial success in the Antena 3 Televisión channel’s scheduled programming and the other arising from its inclusion on Netflix, the platform that gave it worldwide popularity. Resumen La popularización del consumo de contenidos bajo demanda, impulsado por los grandes agentes globales como Netflix, Amazon o HBO, ha provocado una importante disrupción en los hábitos de consumo y ha intensificado el fenómeno de la fragmentación de audiencias. El gran aumento de contenido ofrecido al usuario (que reduce la concentración de espectadores a una selección limitada), su explotación dentro del modelo económico de la suscripción (que elimina la cotización publicitaria del espacio) y la multiplicación de consumos en distintos horarios y a través de distintos receptores, muchos de ellos móviles y fuera del hogar (lo que complica su monitorización), ha generado un nuevo ecosistema. Dentro del mismo, el éxito ya no se puede evaluar en base a los indicadores de la audimetría tradicional. En el presente artículo se aborda cómo se comporta la audiencia en el consumo de contenidos en plataformas de streaming y las nuevas dimensiones con las que se evalúa el éxito de una serie televisiva más allá de los datos que ofrecen las técnicas de medición de audiencias (TAM). Se repasa la transformación del concepto de popularidad y el impacto en el medio que distribuye el contenido de estos nuevos indicadores de audiencia, que añaden a los elementos tradicionales (anunciantes y ventas internacionales) nuevas dimensiones (engagement, retención de clientes, captación de talento, nuevas altas, branding, etc.). El estudio se integra en un marco de investigación más amplio que avanza en la construcción de un nuevo concepto de audiencia en el consumo de video bajo demanda en modelo de suscripción (tomando Netflix como referencia, dada su cuota de mercado) y reflexiona sobre si es posible un concepto de audiencia único aplicable a todos los modelos de consumo y explotación audiovisual bajo demanda. La casa de papel se ha tomado como estudio de caso, ya que es un buen ejemplo de estas dos maneras de entender la audiencia: la vinculada a su recorrido comercial de éxito en la parrilla de Antena 3 y la derivada de su incorporación a Netflix, plataforma donde se popularizó globalmente.

Evolución de la medición digital de la audiencia en el mercado español: estado de la cuestión y retos de futuro

Online audience measurement has always been difficult for various reasons, including the search for a suitable methodology to study particular characteristics of this media. The internet has been called the most well-measured media (Lamas, 2010), but many questions remain unresolved today. The aim of this study is to study the digital audience measurement system in the Spanish environment in order to provide indicators and parameters, as well as the technology used to measure the digital audience in the Spanish market. The current system for measuring digital audiences in Spain is analyzed based on a mixed methodology including statements by experts. The official measuring company, Comscore, bases its work on the census, sampling, and data from other collaborating digital operators. The results of the hybrid methodology provide digital consumption data for Spain. The experts’ opinions indicate that the system is not perfect and presents various deficiencies and challenges. A consolidated and consensual system remains far off, mainly because, since the object of study is in constant transformation due to technical advances, measurement systems must also be adapted to these new needs as well as to improvements in financing. Despite the introduction of new monitoring technologies, the current model barely reflects digital consumption in Spain. Resumen La medición de la audiencia online siempre ha generado dificultades, entre otros factores, por tratar de encontrar una metodología adecuada a las particulares propiedades del medio. Internet estaba llamado a ser desde su nacimiento el medio mejor medido (Lamas, 2010), sin embargo, hoy en día todavía quedan múltiples interrogantes por resolver. El objetivo de esta investigación es estudiar la evolución del sistema de medición de la audiencia digital en el entorno español de modo que se aportarán los indicadores y parámetros, así como la tecnología utilizada, para medir la audiencia digital en el mercado español. A través de una metodología mixta se examina el sistema actual de medición de audiencias digitales en España contando con las declaraciones de algunos expertos del sector. La empresa medidora oficial, Comscore basa su trabajo en la medición censal, muestral y la procedente de datos de otros operadores digitales colaboradores. A través de la metodología híbrida presenta los datos de consumo digital en España. Las opiniones de los expertos indican que no se trata de un sistema perfecto y presenta algunas deficiencias y variados retos. Todavía estamos lejos de disponer de un sistema consolidado y consensuado, principalmente porque dado que es un objeto de estudio que se encuentra en transformación constante por los avances técnicos, también los sistemas de medición se tienen que ir adaptando a esas nuevas necesidades, así como a mejoras en la financiación. El modelo actual difícilmente refleja el consumo digital en España a pesar de haber introducido nuevas tecnologías de monitorización.