Kantar Media partners with Twitter for UK TV analytics

Kantar Media, a market research firm owned by ad giant WPP, has partnered with Twitter to develop a new suite of tools for TV planning and analytics in the UK.

Kantar said it would combine social TV data from Twitter with its own audience research expertise to let broadcasters assess the performance of programmes, plan effective show promotions and help media buyers and sellers integrate social data into the TV side of its business.

The first of these new products will be available commercially to UK broadcasters, media agencies and the wider industry next year, said Kantar Media.

“Broadcasters and advertisers alike are experiencing phenomenal growth in the level of buzz related to TV programming and associated commercials in recent years. Within the social media landscape, Twitter is the only platform that is public, real-time, and conversational. These characteristics have made Twitter a unique data set for the purposes of measuring live social TV conversation at scale and bringing new tools to broadcasters, agencies, and brands to understand and amplify the social engagement about their programming,” said Andy Brown, chairman of Kantar Media.

Twitter COO Ali Rowghani added: “Our users love using Twitter while tuned into television to interact with talent and participate in the live social conversation about TV. In this way, Twitter has become a live companion to the TV viewing experience for millions of people in the UK and around the world, and we are thrilled that Kantar Media will be bringing its considerable audience measurement experience to bear to develop tools and standards for the industry.”