French audience survey company Médiamétrie is entering the race to capture data tracking consumers’ complete media usage habits. In early 2008, the company will begin expanding its ratings coverage with watermarking, a system developed by Thomson (NYSE: TOC) that embeds inaudible sounds in programming, according to the IHT. Médiamétrie will start with set-tops monitoring TV, then moving into radio, online and cell phones; the company eventually hopes to add video game consoles. Portable tracking devices are slated for 2011; Arbitron uses a similar method to monitor audience behavior with its Portable People Meters.

The company expects to spend roughly $50 million (€35 million) over the next four years to test the ratings system, which it hopes will boost revenue nearly 40 percent by 2011. Answering criticism about its narrow sampling, the company will expand its test audience from 3,500 households (8,200 people) to 5,000 households (13,000 people). 

One of the main tests for Médiamétrie’s experiment will be its measurement of IPTV programming, as France has a larger viewership for online TV services. Early success of Médiamétrie’s program could have influence elsewhere in Europe. Britain’s Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board is considering the use of a system similar to that of Médiamétrie and Arbitron; the British board’s contract with Nielsen Media runs through 2010.

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