Nigeria launches Peoplemeter TV audience measurement system in Lagos
A 60,000-household Establishment Survey, completed in 2023 across Nigeria's 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and all 774 local government areas, underpins the first phase of Nigeria's new Audience Measurement System, which began deployment in Lagos on Tuesday. FMEIL-GARB, the venture between First Media and Entertainment Integrated Ltd. and Bulgarian technical partner GARB, is installing Peoplemeter devices in Lagos homes, replacing the diary-based method that asked viewers to record or recall what they watched. The devices connect to data-enabled routers and transmit daily data on programmes watched, viewing duration and audience demographics to a central data centre. FMEIL executive chairman Rotimi Pedro said the company had moved from testing the technology to deploying it in households, and NBC director-general Charles Ebuebu called the earlier diary system unreliable and economically inefficient.
Media buying in Nigeria can move from negotiated estimates to independently measured audience numbers, giving planners firmer evidence when pricing TV placements against reach and demographics. ARCON director-general Olalekan Fadolapo said the system would improve accountability in media investment by letting advertisers and agencies assess campaign effectiveness and cost efficiency. The NBC expects the panel to expand beyond Lagos to cover the rest of the country, and it reported 20 applications in one week from broadcasters seeking to migrate from terrestrial to digital platforms under the Digital Switch Over programme.