Multimedia Panel
Real households. Real media behaviours.
Numeris has been measuring how Canadians watch TV and listen to Radio for many years using our meter panels and is now focused on multimedia panels that capture TV, Radio and digital video* consumption of Canadians". Our Multimedia panel is an important component of Numeris’ cross-platform, cross-media measurement solution. If we’ve asked you to be a part of our Multimedia Ratings panel, it’s so we can measure all of your Radio listening as well as your TV and Online video* viewing together.
* Viewing to specific pre-selected and agreed upon video platforms only. Click here to view the Inclusion List.
Multimedia Panel
Multimedia Panel
Real households. Real media behaviours.
Numeris has been measuring how Canadians watch TV and listen to Radio for many years using our meter panels and is now focused on multimedia panels that capture TV, Radio and digital video* consumption of Canadians". Our Multimedia panel is an important component of Numeris’ cross-platform, cross-media measurement solution. If we’ve asked you to be a part of our Multimedia Ratings panel, it’s so we can measure all of your Radio listening as well as your TV and Online video* viewing together.
* Viewing to specific pre-selected and agreed upon video platforms only. Click here to view the Inclusion List.
How do I participate?
Multimedia panel member homes are asked to install a special device to their internet router called the FocalMeter and carry special electronic devices, PersonalMeters.
FocalMeter
The FocalMeter is a small piece of equipment that only measures the viewing to specific pre-selected and agreed upon video platforms. These video platforms include Canadian TV Broadcasters websites and apps as well as streaming websites and apps like Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video. The FocalMeter doesn’t measure any other websites that panel members may visit. It is a passive device that plugs into the home’s router.
The FocalMeter sends viewing information to Numeris every day. When we get this information, we combine it with the information from other panel member households to produce the ratings for digital video viewing. All the viewing information we provide is based on groups of people, never individuals.
Have questions about the FocalMeter? Check out our FAQ’s below.
PersonalMeter
The PersonalMeter tracks the Radio listening and TV viewing of our panelists and must be carried by panelists at all times. The data gathered by the PersonalMeters is automatically downloaded at the end of each day, then processed by Numeris and released to clients electronically. As with the digital video consumption, all the viewing and listening information we provide is based on groups of people, never individuals.
Easy to use, the PersonalMeter automatically detects what you listen to on the Radio and watch on linear TV by picking up encoded signals sent out by Broadcasters. These signals are silent to the human ear.
While your PersonalMeter can detect a station’s signal if sound is coming from your Radio or TV, rest assured it will not detect or record human conversation or any other household sounds.
For those of you with young children; watch the video below for tips to make carrying the PersonalMeter Easy and fun for them (and you!).
FAQs
If you have any questions, please check out our FAQs below.
The Multimedia Panel is a panel made up of thousands of households across the country. These households have been carefully selected to represent their respective regions. Panelists wear special electronic devices called PersonalMeters and are provided with an electronic meter, called a FocalMeter, which connects to the household’s internet router. These devices capture their radio listening and television viewing, as well as online video viewing from sites listed in our inclusion list, from which our audience estimates – or ratings - are then calculated. This indicates how many people tune in and how often.
Your household was specifically sought for participation and we'd love for you to stay for an extended period of time. Not only will your media behaviours help Canadian media companies deliver the best content to suit your interests, you can also earn great perks and incentives along the way! Please keep the boxes that your PersonalMeter and FocalMeter equipment arrived in so that you can ship it back to us. If you wish to leave the panel, please contact your Panel Administration Team.
To ensure the integrity of Numeris ratings, it is important that your participation remain confidential. If someone asks about your PersonalMeter or FocalMeter, simply say you are participating in a special research study. Please do not tell anyone you don’t know, or anyone working in the media industry, that your household participates in the Numeris ratings.
No, the equipment won’t interfere with your reception. You’ll continue to receive the same stations that are available to you now.
No. In order for the PersonalMeter to pick up the encoded program signal, the sound must be on. That said, do not change your behaviour for the sole purpose of activating the device. Just watch or listen to the TV as you normally do.
Connecting the FocalMeter to your network will take less than 10 minutes. After connecting the network cable between your FocalMeter and home router and powering the FocalMeter, there is an online device registration process.
No, in most cases the equipment will not interfere with your Internet service or other devices in any way. In rare cases panelists have experienced intermittent connectivity issues with some networked devices. If you experience any technical issues, please contact your Panel Administration Team.
No. Reward points are related to the amount of time you wear the PersonalMeter each week. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you listen to the radio or watch TV.
No. Your compensation for participating in our panel is not related to the amount of time you watch Internet video each week. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you watch.
Yes. Your PersonalMeter will detect all types of radio signals. If necessary, please use your headphone adapter when listening to any of these types of broadcasts.
Contact the Panel Administration Team right away to request a replacement.
If you’re only away for a weekend, just take your portable charger with you and continue to use your PersonalMeter. If you’re planning to be away for longer, let the Panel Administration Team know when you’re leaving and when you’ll be back.
No. We’ll enclose complete instructions when we send you your equipment. We’ll also enclose a telephone number you can call if you need help.
The Panel Administration Team will contact you by telephone or email – whichever works best for you.
The panels in each market include all types of homes. Yours was randomly selected as a representative of your community.
We obtain contact information in two ways. The phone numbers, names and address details we use are randomly selected from telephone book listings, cell phone listings included. In addition, we use a computer program to randomly generate new numbers in order to reach unlisted phone numbers.
Regardless of whether you chose it, if you watched it or listened to it, we want to know, so please remember to carry your PersonalMeter with you wherever you go.
The PersonalMeter can pick up broadcast signals from any device, so please wear it at all times, whether you’re at home or on the go.
When you go out, even as a family, each participating household member should take his or her own PersonalMeter as this is the only way we can pick up each individual’s listening and viewing for inclusion in the ratings.
Using your PersonalMeter is incredibly easy. All you need to do is carry it with you by day and charge it in the portable charger by night. As for your FocalMeter, simply connect it to your home Internet connection. Then follow the online registration process to register your FocalMeter with our panel. That’s all that is required.
Yes. If anything changes in your household – e.g. somebody moves in or out, you go on vacation, your TV reception format changes – please contact the Panel Administration Team.
The FocalMeter ONLY tracks web traffic based on a pre-determined inclusion list. The inclusion list is a list of approved websites (domains) where the FocalMeter is allowed to monitor video viewing. Any website not on the inclusion list will not have any data logged by the FocalMeter. It DOES NOT monitor any secure traffic on your network, or any traffic on banking or e-commerce sites. It does not track any passwords or monitor any emails or IM chats.
The FocalMeter excludes web traffic based on a pre-determined inclusion list. The inclusion list is a list of approved websites (domains) where the FocalMeter is allowed to monitor video viewing. The FocalMeter ONLY collects the URLs that are on the inclusion list and the rest are ignored. Even on inclusion list sites, the FocalMeter only monitors a small fraction of content from these sites via “tags”. Tags are specific URLs identifying the pages navigated or the videos played within an inclusion list website. Apart from this, the FocalMeter collects:
- Mac Address of the home router and information on the local home network.
- Model, Name, OS, MAC Address, local IP address of devices seen in the home network.
The Multimedia Panel is a panel made up of thousands of households across the country. These households have been carefully selected to represent their respective regions. Panelists wear special electronic devices called PersonalMeters and are provided with an electronic meter, called a FocalMeter, which connects to the household’s internet router. These devices capture their radio listening and television viewing, as well as online video viewing from sites listed in our inclusion list, from which our audience estimates – or ratings - are then calculated. This indicates how many people tune in and how often.
Your household was specifically sought for participation and we'd love for you to stay for an extended period of time. Not only will your media behaviours help Canadian media companies deliver the best content to suit your interests, you can also earn great perks and incentives along the way! Please keep the boxes that your PersonalMeter and FocalMeter equipment arrived in so that you can ship it back to us. If you wish to leave the panel, please contact your Panel Administration Team.
To ensure the integrity of Numeris ratings, it is important that your participation remain confidential. If someone asks about your PersonalMeter or FocalMeter, simply say you are participating in a special research study. Please do not tell anyone you don’t know, or anyone working in the media industry, that your household participates in the Numeris ratings.
No, the equipment won’t interfere with your reception. You’ll continue to receive the same stations that are available to you now.
No. In order for the PersonalMeter to pick up the encoded program signal, the sound must be on. That said, do not change your behaviour for the sole purpose of activating the device. Just watch or listen to the TV as you normally do.
Connecting the FocalMeter to your network will take less than 10 minutes. After connecting the network cable between your FocalMeter and home router and powering the FocalMeter, there is an online device registration process.
No, in most cases the equipment will not interfere with your Internet service or other devices in any way. In rare cases panelists have experienced intermittent connectivity issues with some networked devices. If you experience any technical issues, please contact your Panel Administration Team.
No. Reward points are related to the amount of time you wear the PersonalMeter each week. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you listen to the radio or watch TV.
No. Your compensation for participating in our panel is not related to the amount of time you watch Internet video each week. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you watch.
Yes. Your PersonalMeter will detect all types of radio signals. If necessary, please use your headphone adapter when listening to any of these types of broadcasts.
Contact the Panel Administration Team right away to request a replacement.
If you’re only away for a weekend, just take your portable charger with you and continue to use your PersonalMeter. If you’re planning to be away for longer, let the Panel Administration Team know when you’re leaving and when you’ll be back.
No. We’ll enclose complete instructions when we send you your equipment. We’ll also enclose a telephone number you can call if you need help.
The Panel Administration Team will contact you by telephone or email – whichever works best for you.
The panels in each market include all types of homes. Yours was randomly selected as a representative of your community.
We obtain contact information in two ways. The phone numbers, names and address details we use are randomly selected from telephone book listings, cell phone listings included. In addition, we use a computer program to randomly generate new numbers in order to reach unlisted phone numbers.
Regardless of whether you chose it, if you watched it or listened to it, we want to know, so please remember to carry your PersonalMeter with you wherever you go.
The PersonalMeter can pick up broadcast signals from any device, so please wear it at all times, whether you’re at home or on the go.
When you go out, even as a family, each participating household member should take his or her own PersonalMeter as this is the only way we can pick up each individual’s listening and viewing for inclusion in the ratings.
Using your PersonalMeter is incredibly easy. All you need to do is carry it with you by day and charge it in the portable charger by night. As for your FocalMeter, simply connect it to your home Internet connection. Then follow the online registration process to register your FocalMeter with our panel. That’s all that is required.
Yes. If anything changes in your household – e.g. somebody moves in or out, you go on vacation, your TV reception format changes – please contact the Panel Administration Team.
The FocalMeter ONLY tracks web traffic based on a pre-determined inclusion list. The inclusion list is a list of approved websites (domains) where the FocalMeter is allowed to monitor video viewing. Any website not on the inclusion list will not have any data logged by the FocalMeter. It DOES NOT monitor any secure traffic on your network, or any traffic on banking or e-commerce sites. It does not track any passwords or monitor any emails or IM chats.
The FocalMeter excludes web traffic based on a pre-determined inclusion list. The inclusion list is a list of approved websites (domains) where the FocalMeter is allowed to monitor video viewing. The FocalMeter ONLY collects the URLs that are on the inclusion list and the rest are ignored. Even on inclusion list sites, the FocalMeter only monitors a small fraction of content from these sites via “tags”. Tags are specific URLs identifying the pages navigated or the videos played within an inclusion list website. Apart from this, the FocalMeter collects:
- Mac Address of the home router and information on the local home network.
- Model, Name, OS, MAC Address, local IP address of devices seen in the home network.
Contact Us
A member of the Panel Administration Team will keep in touch with you by telephone or email – whichever you prefer!
If you have any questions during or after the set-up process, please give us a call or send us an email. Also, please reach out if you’re going on holiday, if you’re having equipment issues, or if the make-up of your household has changed in any way.