Only the JIC (Joint Industry Committee), i.e. thecross-checking body which, as in the case of Auditel, brings together all the components of the television market (broadcasters, advertising investors, agencies and media centres) can guarantee the best practice in terms of transparency, independence and inclusiveness of all subjects as well as the proper functioning of the media market and the digital economy in general. This is what emerges fromAnnual Report to Parliament that the President of Auditel, Andrea Imperialiheld this morning in the Sala della Regina in the Chamber of Deputies.
The Report, entitled ‘Globalization, market, measurement systems: the role of JICs in the new media context’, it contains a detailed analysis of the international television market and of the innovations that are characterizing it: ie the relevant phenomena of concentration and consolidation that concern both the United States and the European Union.
Globalized market and competitive scenario – On the same globalized content market intertwine today six different sectors: the TV (in its traditional news, broadcast and sport articulations), the streaming (SVOD – Subscription Video On Demand – AVOD – Advertising Video On Demand – e FAST – Free Ad-Supported Television), il digital (social media e advertising), i videogames (increasingly convergent), thehardware (smart TV manufacturers) and the cinema (The studios traditional).
The competitive scenario is more complicated and fierce and puts digital democracy at risk. In this context i audience tracking systems must play a key role. Firstly, because, by orienting the allocation of economic resources and helping to define public financing policies, it balances the competitive dynamics, which are increasingly less fair and uniform in this phase. Secondly, because it makes it possible to detect, independently and impartially, changes in consumer behavior which, only if correctly and timely traced, can guarantee true pluralism and a complete democracy of information.
TV, global challenge stage – The TV in streaming, in particular, confirms that it is the global stage for the ongoing challenge between the US giants who are all moving towards the conquest of Europe and Asia and, in order to acquire significant shares of subscribers, adopt increasingly competitive pricing policies. In the EU, in response to the tumultuous growth of global digital oligopolists, we are starting to witness the first phenomena of consolidation cross-country among the national champions of commercial TV.
JIC, market leader – However, as can be seen from the Auditel Report, the competition between subjects operating on the same market and contending for end users continues, in many respects, in conditions of competition still asymmetrical and not always fair or uniform.
And here emerges the importance of JIC, the model indicated by AGCOM (Communications Guarantee Authority) as a pivot of the convergence of metrics and market supervision in terms of transparency, independence and inclusiveness of all subjects. Especially in Italy, where TV plays a key role.
Per Lorenzo FontanaPresident of the Chamber of Deputies:
«The Auditel annual report is full of interesting ideas and reflections, it provides a picture of the profound change that has been taking place for several years now in the media scenario, thanks to a technological evolution that continues to advance exponentially. Although TV remains the most widespread means of mass communication in Europe, the dissemination of information is increasingly via the web. So it happens that this constant and progressive migration to the online business is changing the streams of online revenues. In this sense, the increasingly important role played by audience rating systems is confirmed. The important indications of the Report will offer a significant contribution to the ongoing debate».
According to the Chairman of Auditel, Andrea Imperiali:
«Labsolute centrality of TV in the transformation process of Italian society in a digital keyand is certified by the numbers. The extension of broadband coverage, which today affects 90% of households, was in fact followed by a boom in connected screens: in the last 5 years, they have gone from 70 million to over 93 million out of a total of around 120 million overall screens present in the homes and pockets of Italians; an increase mainly due to Smart TV, which has grown, again in the last 5 years, by 210%, going from 5 million to over 18 million devices. It is not enough. Looking ahead, there is a further boost deriving from the switch-off process for the new digital terrestrial standard and above all from the Pnrr, which foresees the creation of the so-calleda gigabit society, i.e. one gigabit broadband coverage for all Italian families. A significant change – continues Imperiali – which is profoundly affecting the use and viewing behavior of television content. Auditel has been and is perfectly capable of intercepting it thanks to Total Audience, which detects and measures cross-platform and cross-device consumption, returning every day to the market a faithful and accurate picture of increasingly personalized and increasingly fragmented methods of use» he concluded.
Second Adolfo UrsoMinister of Enterprise and Made in Italy:
«Auditel’s annual report allows us to make a profound reflection on the change taking place in the audio-television world. A priority theme is that of national security which also passes through the media, just think of events such as the pandemic and war. A reliable photograph emerges from the Report to be read in perspective. Auditel’s contribution is decisive thanks to the research activity and the reconversion capacity that the company has had in the face of complex phenomena such as the digital transition. A challenge that must be taken up above all in the light of the implementation of the Pnrr. The transparency, impartiality and independence that Auditel is able to ensure allows us to combine freedom with responsibility to protect the dignity of everyone, especially minors who are the most vulnerable».
Alberto BarachiniUndersecretary to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for information and publishing, declared that:
«Auditel’s annual report to Parliament is a very important moment because it photographs the media scenario by offering ever new food for thought. We have reached a crucial point in the multimedia age. Audience measurement is essential for the survival of economic realities on the one hand and the safeguarding of users’ rights on the other. The issues at stake are the safeguarding of transparency, non-discrimination, proportionality. High quality standards must be promoted in order to have as common a basis as possible. In this sense, the Total Audience system is essential for a more effective measurement. Publishers and platforms should work together to collect correct and verified information. Indeed, the state of health of democracy is measured by the reliability of the information»
Federico MolliconePresident of the Culture, Science and Education Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, noted that:
«Digital sovereignty means regulation of technological development. The role played by platforms today is so preponderant that they have become real guardians of the digital ecosystem. The Report focuses on some aspects including the impact of digital piracy on the web. On the basis of the bill that I first signed approved unanimously yesterday in the Chamber, and now being examined by the Senate, AGCOM will have to coordinate supervision and the imposition of measures, given that piracy affects the formation of the legal market. Digitization must increasingly be a means of democracy capable of guaranteeing growth and development».
Per James LasorellaPresident of AGCOM:
«The issue of measuring audience ratings is a central aspect. Today’s Report gives us a phenomenon of great concentration of platforms in the streaming market. Hence the need to identify new detection tools according to shared and transparent rules in a cross-media and Total Audience logic. The regulatory and organizational structure, therefore, is called to adapt to this rapidly changing scenario in order to guarantee the correct functioning of the market which effectively protects users. In this regard, European legislation has made an organic intervention aimed at safeguarding pluralism, transparency and independence. In this perspective, the so-called JIC represents a virtuous model capable of guaranteeing the correctness of the measurement processes».