Foxtel will be using the NDS system to track and analyse audience behaviour across its network and to enable the introduction of advanced advertising solutions.

Part of the NDS Dynamic suite of advanced ad solutions, the NDS Dynamic Audience Measurement System will allow Foxtel to collect enhanced viewing information in homes that have agreed to participate on a measurement panel to assist with advertising and marketing decisions.

Foxtel executive director of sales and product Patrick Delany says, “In a competitive market, we have to understand which services appeal to our subscribers, so we can provide a product that suits their viewing habits.

“With NDS Dynamic, integrated with the TNS RaPiDView service, we will have access to valuable information that can be used to improve the way we package, promote and sell our services.”

NDS Dynamic will track audience behaviour across live TV. But, additionally, it will monitor time-shifted digital video recorder (DVR) and on-demand viewing, and usage of the electronic programme guide (EPG) and interactive applications.

Foxtel will use the information from a pre-defined panel of set-top boxes (STBs) recruited by TNS Media Research to learn more about the viewership for its services. Having a better understanding of viewer preferences will help to optimise services and marketing strategies.

NDS Dynamic combines NDS’ expertise in STB data collection with TNS’ expertise in STB data processing and analysis, the company said in a release. TNS’ RaPiDView solution delivers information gained from the Return Path Data (RPD) stream from digital STBs, providing accurate tracking of the channels and ads viewers watch and the services they use.

By monitoring advanced advertising applications, such as the interactive red button - increasingly regarded as synonymous with interactivity - and on-demand ads, Multi Channel Network (MCN), Foxtel’s air time sales house, will be able to make better informed ad placement decisions and expand its portfolio of advertising services.

MCN CEO Anthony Fitzgerald says, “As we improve the level of accountability we offer media buyers, we will be able to offer a superior ad sales service and grow our multichannel TV ad sales. By acting on the information made available through NDS Dynamic, we will be able to make better ad placement decisions and, in the future, support new formats such as interactive advertising and addressable advertising.”

NDS Dynamic is a suite of advanced advertising solutions including technologies that deliver audience measurement, addressable advertising and interactive advertising.

Adds NDS Product Marketing Manager and advertising solutions Gideon Gilboa, “NDS Dynamic is a flexible and all-inclusive platform for delivering a wide array of addressable and interactive advertising applications. Reliable audience measurement is the basis for all of these advanced advertising applications. We are pleased to be able to help Foxtel to get the accurate data it needs for its decision-making and for more efficient and effective marketing.”