Gulf Cup Win Scores Big TV Numbers

The UAE s Gulf Cup win over Iraq last Friday, January 18th, has set new records for television viewing in the country, according to figures from tview, the UAE s official television audience measurement system. A tview statement said that at its peak, more than 397,000 people were watching the game in their homes on the Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah sport channels, with many more viewing in cafes and other locations. Average viewing across the whole match was nearly 264,000 viewers, which represents audience share of 47.2% among Emiratis and Arab Expats, meaning that nearly half the number of people watching at that time were viewing the Gulf Cup match. The Abu Dhabi Sports channel picked up the majority of the viewing with an overall rating of 7.38%. The figure for the event eclipsed the highest viewed programme of 2012, which was the final episode of Arab Idol. tview is the name of the TV ratings system of EMMC, a joint venture of leading broadcast entities, Abu Dhabi Media, Sharjah Media, Rotana Media, and Etisalat, which is also supported by du. It is based on People Meters - measurement devices in the homes of a panel designed to represent the TV viewing population of the UAE. The project was established following a Cabinet decision. It was overseen by the National Media Council with the support of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. By reporting viewing at a minute-by-minute level, tview offers insights into viewing patterns and behaviour which have not previously been available. Such research offers broadcasters, media agencies and advertisers the possibility of improving their programming, scheduling and advertising. The tview panel data includes detailed demographic information such as nationality, gender, location, age and socio-economic status for viewers aged 4 and above, although all data is reported anonymously and individuals are not identified. In addition to the data provided in full to subscribers, EMMC makes extracts of the tview ratings information publicly available on its website www.tview.ae and distributes summaries to the trade and press.