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CCTV
The largest state-owned broadcaster in China audits its own ratings. Is that OK? |
I usually take a walk when propaganda from China's state news agency Xinhua passes my desk, but I was too late to escape
this one. It quotes the chairman of
Nielsen Media Research,
Robert L. McCann as saying that China will surpass Japan to take second place in worldwide advertising spending. "It is a question of when, not if," McCann told the Xinhua interviewer.
Wow. Stop the presses.
The funny part come later in the dispatch, when McCann said he wants to lift ratings measurement of Chinese TV audiences to an international level. Right now, Chinese TV ratings are handled by CTR Market Research -- a Nielsen competitor. McCann expressed concern about CTR's transparency and independence. I looked that up: CTR is actually majority owned by China Central Television (CCTV), the largest state-owned TV broadcaster in China.
My friends at the Shanghai Media Group (the second-largest state-owned TV station), say they buy ratings reports from both Nielsen and CTR. There is not a huge difference between the two, they say. But still, this situation does not feel good in a country where there are huge doubts about the validity of various media claims.
I agree with McCann: You shouldn't audit yourself.
