Published:  24.10.2017

In the spring of 2017, Taloustutkimus and Digita launched a pilot study to examine the possibilities of developing new digital services and research methods. Carried out in the hybrid TV environment, the aim of the study was to investigate how Digita’s hybrid TV platform could be utilised in research. The study has now been extended by one year.

”The study conducted last
spring showed promise, and our aim is to further assess the method. In October,
we will begin recruiting new panellists, and our intention is to increase the
number of hybrid TV panellists from the current amount of under a hundred TV
devices to at least 700. Our goal is to incorporate hybrid TV as part of our
research tools at some point in the future,” explains Pasi Huovinen from Taloustutkimus.

”Digita’s future role is to
provide an intelligent platform for Taloustutkimus to use in its surveys. As
television develops as a medium, it will increasingly utilise methods used in
other media for content targeting and customer service. Right now,
Taloustutkimus is a pioneer in discovering the potential uses of
targetability,” says Teppo Ahonen,
Director of Video Delivery Services at Digita.

Use of hybrid TV services on the rise

Unlike smart TV, Digita’s hybrid TV services such as Yle Areena, Ruutu,
the Idols voting application and the Finnish ice hockey league results service
are part of channel content rather than separate applications in a device
memory. This means that, in addition to continuously updated services, hybrid
TV enables a range of services to be connected to the programme flow, as well
as interactive advertising.

From the perspective of developing new services, hybrid TV penetration
is already significant, with some 160,000 devices now connected to Digita’s
network. Digita estimates that this number will grow to approximately one
million by 2020. Finnish terrestrial TV network operators have agreed on a
transition to high-definition (HD) technology in March 2020. This transition to
HD will significantly increase the number of hybrid TVs in the near future, as
nearly all smart TVs of the new DVB-T2 technological standard support the
hybrid TV feature.

Taloustutkimus
Oy, established in 1971,
is a Finnish market research company with operations in Finland, the Baltic
countries and Russia. In Finland, we operate in Helsinki, Turku, Tampere and
Oulu. Taloustutkimus serves over a thousand clients every year from all fields
of business. Our notable clients include major companies in the fields of
media, export and food industry, retail and financial services, as well as
public sector operators and foreign research agencies.

Digita
Oy transmits radio and TV programmes
reliably all across Finland every day of the year. We also apply the latest
digital technology in order to develop and offer diverse online television and
radio services. In addition, our service portfolio includes IoT services based
on our comprehensive network, as well as world-class Data Centre Services. Our
clients include media companies as well as mobile and broadband operators
offering first-class content.