Counting Eyeballs

KILEY (2006) BUSINESSWEEK/1/16/ 84-85

Media Check is the name of a new technology that measures the number of people watching a program and if they are watching the advertisements. Nearly 60 million is spent on tv ads. Almost 8 out of 10 channels surf or skip ads during the presentation of the advertisement. By 2009, about 45% will have boxes on sets monitoring those watching tv ads. About half now have the capacity to record the program for later viewing and skip the ads.

The box helps promoters of commercial ads determine who watches the ad and does not surf the channels. Or, they measure how long a viewer watches the ads. Every so often, viewers are given rewards for letting their house be monitored.The box can give a minute by minute account of the viewer.

However, it can not tell if the ad is running and the person is out of the room If however, they are our "out of pattern" it is assumed no one is in the room. This is not perfect, but a step up from the old monitoring of phone calls, daily logs, or pure monitoring without a minute by minute count.