science

Médiamétrie

Médiamétrie is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Médiamétrie rather than just read about it. In short: Médiamétrie (French pronunciation: [medjametʁi]), established in 1985, is a public limited company specialising in audience measurement and research into audio-visual and digital media usage in France. It is especially well known for its Audimat brand whose name is now part of everyday language; today, however, that brand is named Médiamat.

Key takeaways

Médiamétrie belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Médiamétrie to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Médiamétrie from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Médiamétrie (French pronunciation: [medjametʁi]), established in 1985, is a public limited company specialising in audience measurement and research into audio-visual and digital media usage in France. It is especially well known for its Audimat brand whose name is now part of everyday language; today, however, that brand is named Médiamat.

About Médiamétrie came into being during the 1980s in response to the new needs of the audio-visual landscape in France which was undergoing rapid change at that time. In television, it was the launch of new channels: Canal+, La Cinq, TV6 and the privatisation of TF1. Furthermore, in radio, the first major private stations emerged with the privatisation of Europe 1 and the rise in popularity of NRJ. Médiamétrie was therefore created to provide scientific measurement of the audience of the main audio-visual (and later digital) media, and was recognised by all stakeholders and professionals (media, advertisers, and agencies). Since the 2000s, the company has expanded its activities to include the internet, digital hobbies and new media. Médiamétrie is also the company that provides the audiovisual watchdog agency ARCOM and the INA with accurate time slots for the programmes broadcast, as well as certification for the airing of advertisements.

History

Television In 1981, Audimat was launched in France by the Centre d’Étude d’Opinion (CEO), an opinion research company. It was based on a panel of 600 households equipped with audience meters. Measurement was carried out on a daily basis with results reported the following morning, however, no indication was given as to the profile of the audience watching the television set. In early 1988, Médiamétrie and other market stakeholders agreed to launch a benchmark measurement based on a larger panel and which took individual audiences into account. At that time, Audimat became Médiamat, which from then on was an individual television audience measurement rather than a household one. In 2008, the panel was expanded to its current size: 5,000 households, approximately 11,400 individuals aged four years and over. In 2011, recorded time-shifted viewing was incorporated into television audience measurement, followed by catch-up in 2014. Since 2016, Médiamétrie has measured television audiences on four screens: television, computer, smartphone and tablet.

Radio 1986 saw the creation of an audience measurement mechanism for the radio based on a telephone survey in mainland France. Back then, it was called the “55,000” in reference to the size of the sample interviewed in one year (excluding the summer). In the 1990s, the “55,000” became the “75,000 +”, before evolving into the “126,000” in 2005, as the sample size was expanded. For each year in radio between September and June, there are four waves of results covering 126,000 people. These individuals are asked about their listening habits in a landline or mobile telephone interview.

Internet With the technological developments of the 2000s, Médiamétrie expanded its activities to include measurement of the internet audience in France. Thus in 1999, Médiamétrie initiated measurement of web traffic thanks to its “24,000 Multimedia” survey. In 2000, the company launched a joint-venture with Nielsen to produce an internet / computer measurement in France that was based on a panel of several thousand individuals. The emergence of mobile phones and later, tablets encouraged market stakeholders and Médiamétrie to launch an internet / mobile measurement in 2010, and that was then followed by the measurement of tablet audiences. Since the start of 2018, internet audience measurement has been “global”: it includes browsing on computer, smartphone and tablet.

Visual identity

Company activities

Audience measurement Médiamétrie conducts media audience measurement in France and covers radio, television, cinema and internet. Its studies are used by media and industry professionals to tailor their editorial content and to obtain data to use when calculating advertising rates.

Media behaviour studies and new practices among French consumers Médiamétrie measures the audiences of the main media and it also conducts surveys into new behaviours and practices of French consumers. It also decodes trends in equipment, media consumption and emerging practices such as video on demand, smart speakers, podcasts, etc.

Thematic studies Beyond audience measurement and studies into media behaviour, Médiamétrie also surveys the French population about their practices and opinions. A few examples of non-media related surveys:

“Illegal video use in France” with the Centre National du Cinéma (CNC) and the ALPA association against audio-visual piracy; “The French and management of their personal data” with the Institut des Mines-Télécom; “The French and Artificial Intelligence” with Paris-Dauphine University; “Citizenship and Civility on the Internet” with Renaissance Numérique.

International activities Médiamétrie is present internationally in three business areas.

Exporting technology In India, the BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) chose the audience meters developed by Médiamétrie as well as watermarking technology to use with its television audience measurement panel. With 33,000 Indian households now equipped, this also represents the largest TV panel in the world. In Norway, TNS Gallup Norway (Kantar Media Group) decided to equip 1,500 of its TV panellists with the RateOnAir mini-audience meter to include measurement of television programme viewing outside the home. In May 2019, Médiamétrie and three foreign research institutes – BARC (India), Numeris (Canada) and Video Research (Japan) – formed an international alliance in order to collaborate on the future of video audience measurement.

Audience measurement in Africa In Morocco, Médiamétrie operates automatic television audience measurement via its subsidiary Marocmétrie, with a similar activity to that carried out in France (representative household panel equipped with audience meters). In Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon and Madagascar, Médiamétrie and its local partners conduct several “reporting-based” surveys annually to discover the TV, radio and internet practices of the inhabitants of these countries.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Médiamétrie

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Médiamétrie claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Médiamétrie before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Médiamétrie ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Médiamétrie

In research: Médiamétrie appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Médiamétrie in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Médiamétrie is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Audience measurement, French companies established in 1985, Mass media companies established in 1985, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Médiamétrie outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Médiamétrie in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Médiamétrie means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Médiamétrie out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Médiamétrie in simple terms?

Why does Médiamétrie matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Médiamétrie?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Médiamétrie.