Barb Completes Panel Expansion to 7,000 Homes

UK viewing data and ad currency body Barb has completed the increase in its nationally-representative panel of UK households from 5,150 homes to 7,000 homes, the largest single increase since its launch in 1981. The panel has also been equipped with new metering technology.

The 7,000 panel homes represent around 16,000 people. The upgrade is part of Barb's multi-year contracts which run until the end of 2029 with principal research agency partners Kantar, Ipsos and RSMB.

Barb has also been building out its service in the last two years with the addition of reporting on BVOD services on multiple screens, non-linear programmes on TV sets, advertising / subscription video-on-demand services (AVOD/SVOD), video-sharing platforms and dynamically-served advertising. In March it announced a major upgrade to its CFlight cross-media campaign reporting service, which now promises advertisers and agencies comprehensive campaign performance data against fourteen key traded audience groups; and last week it issued an invitation to tender for development of the Barb Data Hub, a new centralised system which will offer access to its viewing data.

Data from all the above sources will be integrated via the new Barb Panel Plus initiative, including return path data and first-party data from a wide range of media owners.

COO Caroline Baxter says of the latest expansion: 'I'm passionate about high quality panels and expanding the panel is crucial because it will ensure continued high quality and true representativeness of the population'.

Web site: www.barb.co.uk .