At last week’s Entertainment and Technology NY Summit, Variety Co-Editor-In-Chief Andrew Wallenstein spoke with industry leaders, Wared Seger (CEO, Parrot Analytics), David Boyle (EVP of Insights, BBC Worldwide), and Bruce Tuchman (former President of AMC Global and current global media executive, investor & advisor) about the future of global audience measurement. Seger, whose company provides the industry’s first global, cross-platform, audience demand measurement system to studios, networks and streaming services said, “Being able to understand audience demand for content on any platform, in any country, at any time, is a paradigm shift for the industry and one that will future-proof media companies, enabling them to keep up with the unprecedented audience fragmentation.”
Tuchman noted that the benefits of having this data are unparalleled. He stated that he would have loved to have used it during his time at AMC Global and the Sundance Channel Global. He cited shows like AMC‘s The Walking Dead (one of the most globally in-demand shows in 2015) could have benefited from understanding their global demand. By optimizing distribution and monetization, AMC could have targeted their global fan-base and brought content directly to them.
Boyle explained how having market-specific audience demand intelligence helped uncover new opportunities in monetizing BBC brands including Dr. Who and their audiences in South Korea. The panel discussed applications for audience demand measurement across the industry, such as assisting with international and affiliate sales and distribution, marketing and content acquisition.
Tuchman and Boyle urged everyone in the industry to explore it as a next generation measurement tool that can better connect audiences with the content they love.