TV Ratings Drama: Keshet Blocks Channel 14 Request for Audience Panel Data
Channel 14 demanded data on rating panel changes since August 2024 to verify viewership accuracy. The Israeli Audience Research Board froze the transfer following an objection from Keshet's representative.
Behind the Scenes of Israeli TV Ratings
A dramatic conflict has emerged behind the scenes of Israel's television industry regarding the methodology used by the Israeli Audience Research Board (IARB), which consists of representatives from local TV channels and advertising agencies.
Channel 14 has demanded detailed data on the households that entered or exited the rating measurement panel since August 2024, aiming to examine whether changes in the sample's composition influenced viewership results. While the IARB had already begun compiling the requested information, a formal objection from the representative of the Keshet media group led to a freeze on the data transfer pending a plenary discussion.
The Core of the Dispute
The rating panel is a representative sample of Israeli households selected to reflect the general viewing public. Viewership data from these homes directly determines the ratings of channels and programs, which in turn dictate advertising revenues. Consequently, even minor adjustments to the panel's composition can have a significant financial impact.
Channel 14's petition requested comprehensive data on all households added to or removed from the panel since August 2024, including:
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The exact dates of the changes;
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Reasons for removing specific households;
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Demographic characteristics of the households;
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Relevant viewing history where available.
Channel 14 clarified that the request does not seek to identify individual panel members or obtain their addresses. Instead, it focuses on the general parameters used by Fifty5Blue (formerly Kantar Media), the firm responsible for managing the sample, to adjust the panel's composition.
Keshet Intervenes to Halt the Process
Initially, the IARB began processing the request. The board's legal advisor, attorney Noam Ben-Ami, confirmed that work was underway to locate the viewing data of disconnected households and link them to the list of removed homes.
However, Oded Barash, Keshet's representative on the board, demanded an immediate halt to the data transfer until the matter could be debated in a full plenary session. Barash argued that the request was highly unusual and raised concerns that sharing detailed data could compromise the anonymity of the panel.
Following Keshet's objection, the IARB's legal advisor announced that the data transfer would be suspended:
"Since this request deviates from the standard inquiries typically handled by the board's management, the data will not be transferred at this stage, pending a formal discussion in the plenary session of the Audience Research Board."
