Former OzTAM Boss Peiffer Joins Foxtel

In Australia, former OzTAM CEO Doug Peiffer has joined Foxtel Media as an adviser. The broadcaster is building its own in-house audience measurement system - a move cricitised last year by OzTAM.

Peiffer brings 35 years of experience to his new role. Prior to joining OzTam in November 2010 he was General Joint Manager, Director Media Australia at TNS, VP President Media Services Latin America at ACNielsen; MD of Media Services in Singapore; and finally GM, Client Integration Strategy and Research at broadcaster Network Ten. As CEO of the ad currency body he worked closely with TAM ratings provider Nielsen, then led the development of VOZ or Virtual Australia, an integrated database combining broadcast viewing on TV sets and connected devices, supporting advanced audience targeting. He stepped down from the role and the organisation a year ago, stating that 'the time was right' to hand over the reins to new leadership.

In his new role as Foxtel Media's Senior Adviser, Peiffer will report directly to CEO Mark Frain and will assist the company in tapping into data from its 1 million Foxtel set top boxes, in partnership with Kantar Media - as well as developing new reach and impact metrics across linear and streaming channels.

Foxtel announced last year that it would be launching Australia's 'largest-ever television ratings system', incorporating 'data validation, processing, demographic mapping, capping and quality control', to provide more depth of understanding regarding viewing of its content [capping is a term for adjusting long viewing sessions to estimate realistic viewing levels]. At the time OzTAM said the launch would 'pose the risk of confusion in the market' and added 'the industry has clearly stated that it wants one service to measure Total TV'.

Frain says video measurement has become 'highly complex and technical' and believes there are 'only a handful of people around the world able to really navigate this field'. He welcomes Peiffer's 'deep technical knowledge' as a vital part of 'bringing Australian measurement into the new age of media'.

Web site: www.foxtel.com.au .