Tel-Aviv & London, November 25 2009 – TNS Telegal, Israel’s leading syndicated research company, have signed a new contract to continue operating the national Israeli Television Audience Measurement (TAM) service. This prestigious five year contract, agreed by the Israeli Audience Research Board (IARB), follows a competitive pitch involving one other bidder.
The IARB was founded in 1995 to establish and operate a television viewing audience measurement system in Israel. The board appointed TNS Telegal to the original contact in 1998, initially for a five year period. The contract was subsequently extended on a number of occasions until earlier this year.
TNS Telegal will continue to work with colleagues in TNS Media Research to provide TAM currency through the existing 580 strong household panel. The panel will maintain the deployment of TNS’ highly successful 5000 series PeopleMeter™, a proven audience measurement tool with 57,000 meters deployed in 35,000 homes across the world.
“When the new service commences next year it will have some significant enhancements” explains Eitan Kassif, Managing Director of TNS Telegal. “This includes a shift from the current Picture-Matching to Enhanced Audio-matching technology. This development will allow the IARB to understand the changing television environment, including the measurement of interactive services and non-linear viewing. ”
Dr. Yifat Ben Hay-Segev, CEO of the IARB commented: “We are pleased to re-appoint TNS Telegal to provide the national TAM currency in Israel. The IARB are committed to incorporating new measurement technologies and keeping pace with a rapidly changing industry. We are confident that TNS, an internationally respected leader in audience measurement, will continue to deliver valuable insights to our members.”
Richard Marks, Global CEO of TNS Media Research added “We are delighted that our strong partnership with IARB will continue. Israel is a country at the forefront of the digital revolution and I know that TNS cutting-edge measurement technology, combined with the outstanding skills of our TNS Telegal team, will be equal to the challenge of measuring the fast-changing TV environment in Israel.”
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About The Israeli Audience Research Board (IARB)
The IARB is an Israeli non-profit organization established in 1995, comprising national broadcast authorities, public and commercial broadcasters and associations of the advertising agencies and advertisers. The IARB was formed with the aim of establishing and operating an agreed upon system of TV Audience Measurement in Israel by utilizing the most up-to-date know-how and technologies available in the world.
The IARB members include : First Channel Authority,The Second Channel Authority for TV and Radio, Israel Education TV, Reshet (Channel 2 Franchisee), Keshet (Channel 2 Franchisee) ,Channel 9 ,Channel 10 ,Music 24 ,Israeli Advertising Agencies Association ,Israeli Marketing Association (observer status)
For further information, please visit www.midrug-tv.org.il
About TNS Telegal
TNS Telegal is the syndicated, continuous and media research division of TNS in Israel, and part of the global TNS Media Research network. The company has been operating the TAM (Television Audience Measurement) or rating service in Israel on behalf of the IARB since 1998.
Other major services offered by TNS Telegal in Israel include TGI (Target Group Index), the world famous BMRB (Kantar) brand which is a single source media, consumption and life style monitoring service, and the management and operation of the Interactive Access Panel in Israel (“MySeker”) for and on behalf of TNS Israel’s Custom Research division.
About TNS Media Research
TNS Media Research provides internet, TV, and radio audience measurement worldwide. The expertise and technology of this international operation supports audience services in over 30 countries, including Israel, Norway, Denmark, Canada, China, Russia, Spain, the UK and the US. TNS is at the forefront of the latest techniques in digital audience measurement, involving set-top box Return Path Data through its RaPiD View services.
About Kantar
TNS Media Research is part of the Kantar Group.
Kantar is one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy networks. By uniting the diverse talents of its 13 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 26,500 employees work across 95 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle. The group’s services are employed by over half of the Fortune Top 500 companies.
For further information, please visit us at www.kantar.com
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For more information please contact:
Eitan Kassif, Managing Director, TNS Telegal
Tel: +972 3 616 5111 or email eitan.kassif@tns-telegal.com
Dr. Yifat Ben Hay-Segev, CEO of the IARB
Tel: +972 3 575 1703 or email yifat@midrug-tv.org.il
John McCarthy, Marketing Communications Manager, TNS Media Research
Tel: +44(0) 7815 767 753 or email john.mccarthy@tns-global.com
TNS Media Research 
