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Advance Booking Deadline
The date by which campaign approvals must be given by agencies to the sales department for bookings related to a given month.
AFP
Ad funded programmes. Programmes that are fully or part funded by an advertiser, e.g. Transmission with T Mobile.
Agency commission
Media owners pay recognised agencies a commission. In the UK the normal rate is 15% of a client's expenditure but this can vary for other media.
Analagoue
Analogue Broadcasts are transmitted using radio waves of various lengths and various frequencies. Analogue can be contrasted with digital, whereby signals are compressed and may be encrypted prior to transmission.
By 2012, the analogue signal will be switched to digital, meaning any TV set that has not been converted to digital when switchover takes place, will no longer be able to receive a TV signal. For more on this, click here.
Attitude Research
Measuring a person's 'opinion' or 'image' of a product (or programme) as opposed to their usage or purchase.
Audience
Population or target group viewing a television programme or an advertising programme.
Audit, Media
A media audit consists of an assessment of the effectiveness of media planning and/or buying. Normally involving comparison with similar or competitive campaigns. Most typically, a third party specialist media audit company will make comparison between the cost-efficiency of an advertiser's TV or press campaign and data collected about market averages.
Average Audience
Calculated by adding together the audience for each individual minute of a programme and dividing it by the programmes total duration.
Average Frequency
An expression of the average number of times a particular campaign or advertisement will be seen or heard by an individual.
Bumpers
Short branded sponsorship credits shown either side of a programme coming in and out of the commercial break.
Clearcast (BACC)
Previously known as the BACC (Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre), all advertisements appearing on member stations must be cleared by Clearcast prior to transmission.
Commercial Break
A break during a programme or between programmes, during which advertisements are shown.
Commercial Minutage
The number of minutes (per day, per week etc) on television, during which commercials are broadcast.
Commercial Share
The share of viewing taken by a commercial broadcaster, excluding all BBC channels. (NB some BBC Channels are commercial).
Consolidated Viewing
The total of real time (at transmission time) and video playback viewing (occurring within an agreed period e.g. seven days of the first transmission period).
Copy Clearance
When the content of a commercial is deemed acceptable for transmission by Clearcast.
Cost Per Thousand
A standard industry measure of the cost of reaching 1000 individuals of a target audience, based on the 30" equivalent TVR.
Coverage
An ad campaign's coverage level (also known as its 'reach') is an expression of the extent which it is viewed by the specified target audience.
CRR
Contract Rights Renewal, the CRR mechanism sets out the rights, under Ofcom guidelines, held by advertisers when buying ITV commercial airtime.
DAL
Dedicated Advertiser Location. Accessed via the red button and allowing viewers to enter an advertiser environment outside the broadcast stream.
Daypart
Broadcast time period (segment), e.g. daytime: 0900 - 1730.
Demograph
A grouping of the population or market usually related to age, sex and social class, or lifestyle, which is measured and/or sold within a sales region.
DTT
Digital Terrestrial Television also known as the 'Freeview' platform.
Establishment Survey
A UK annual survey carried out by BARB and used to update population estimates and targets for the maintenance of the BARB panels.
Free-to-air
TV channels offered free to users, subscription free.
Frequency
Average number of times target audience is able to see advertisement.
Genre
A category or style of programming - for example, documentaries, sit-coms, reality etc.
Guest Viewing
A guest/visitor to a Household whose age and sex and viewing is measured. A guest exists only for one viewing session and is recorded separately for different viewing sessions. Up to 7 guests at a time may be registered with the system in a Home.
Household
A group of individuals who's viewing is measured by the ratings supplier. This implies the social class of all members and Guests.
Housewife
The person within the household responsible for the household shopping and duties - can be male or female.
Impacts
Number of people who view a commercial. One impact equals one person seeing a commercial in a 30" period.
Impressions
The gross number of exposures to an advert by the target audience. An impression is an OTS/OTH that has actually taken place. See impacts.
Infomercial
Long, information-rich television advertisement format often used in DRTV commercials shopping channels.
IPA
Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. The IPA is the trade body and professional institute for 250 leading agencies in the UK's advertising, media and marketing communications industry, covering the Creative, Digital, Direct Marketing, Healthcare, Media, Outdoor, Sales Promotion and Sponsorship sectors.
ISBA
ISBA is the representative body on all aspects of marketing communications for some 380 leading UK advertisers, whose combined spend on marketing communications, is over £10 billion per annum.
Multi-Channel Home
Homes that receive TV channels in the following formats: Digital satellite, Digital Cable or Digital Terrestrial. These homes are also able to receive the analogue terrestrial transmission.
Ofcom
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.
OTS
Opportunity to see: one exposure to an advertisement message.
Out of Home viewing
Defined as the TV audience viewing outside private homes, typically meaning pubs, clubs, offices, hospitals, hotel rooms etc (excluded by BARB).
Overlap
Approximately 15% of households in the UK are in an overlap area between two ITV regions and so can, and often do, view two or more ITV stations.
Panel
Individuals who are chosen to represent themselves who are sampled over time. The data is collected and grouped together to show patterns or a relationship over time.
Penetration
E.g. the % of people with a TV is 99.9%; this equals TV's penetration in the UK.
People-metres
Set top boxes downloading household viewing via telephone link.
Population
In the case of TV, the total population is defined as everyone aged four or over in UK private households that contain a TV set in working order.
Profile
A classification of viewers to Channel, programme etc which may be categorised by a single criteria i.e.; age, class. The profile must always total 100%.
Programme Sponsor
An advertiser who has paid for an association with a specific programme or genre.
Ratings
The viewers of a commercial or group of commercials expressed in actual numbers (Impacts) or as a percentage of the target audience Universe (rating).
Reach
Synonymous with coverage; more commonly used to denote the percentage of the target audience viewing at some time within a defined time range.
Road Blocking
The booking of the same timing by an advertiser for one product on multiple broadcasters, E.g.: both Channel 4 and Five with the aim of increasing coverage.
Socio Economic Group
BARB uses six grades, based on the occupation of the head of the Household: A Upper middle class; higher managerial, administrative or professional B Middle class; intermediate managerial, administrative or professional C1 Lower middle class; intermediate managerial, administrative or professional C2 Skilled working class; skilled manual workers D Working class; semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers E State pensioners, widows and casual workers.
Strikewieght
The weight of advertising ratings bought per week.
Target Audience
The group of individuals the advertiser is aiming to reach.
TVR
Television rating. The percentage of the target audience Universe who viewed at a given time on a given channel. If an advertising spot achieves 1 TVR this means that 1% of the relevant target audience watched the spot being transmitted.
Universe
Number in the target audience available to watch TV measured in thousands in each television area.
Viewers
Those in room with a TV on, measured on a minute by minute basis.
Related Pages
Airtime
Find out why you should consider advertising on Channel 4 airtime as part of your media mix
