Nielsen launches JV in China to research growth in digital TV

The announcement was made at the Nielsen China forum, which kicked off today at the Pudong Shangri-la in Shanghai. The forum is is attended by renowned economists, government officials as well as business leaders from media and fast-moving consumer goods sectors.

Nielsen-CCData is expected to provide better understanding of the changing habits of the more than 70 million Chinese consumers already utilising digital signals for TV reception.

Working together with cable DTV operators, media owners, content providers, advertising agencies, and advertisers, the new joint venture will provide the first ever Chinese digital TV-specific consumer insight by measuring how users watch digital TV, how they use the digital TV's Value Added Services (VAS), and their attitudes towards interactive digital TV platforms.

The joint venture will examine and report on TV consumption, building upon the innovative measurement of digital TV users' behaviour, attitudes, and habits through advanced measurement techniques including large-scale deployment of set-top box measurement.

"Increased competition among advertisers gives rise to the need for more precision – in measurement and marketing," said Mitch Barns, president of Nielsen Greater China.

CCData was started by researchers from the Communication University of China (CUC). After successfully working with Wasu and other leading cable system operators in China, the company developed a technology suite to measure Digital TV, including data monitoring and massive data processing.

In a keynote speech this morning, Xu Shanda, member of Committee for Economic Affairs of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, talked about the adjustment to policy in China and its impact on domestic consumption.

The forum also includes a series panel discussions scheduled this afternoon, with topics ranging from how retailers can expand to lower-tier cities, to opportunities and challenges in the rapidly-developing auto market.

"The China market is a huge global economic powerhouse offering tremendous growth opportunities," said Barns. "A population of 1.3 billion people, with more than half living in 570,000 villages, represents a treasure trove of untapped potential."