Establishment Survey Description

Prior to launching the Television Audience Measurement (TAM) study, it is necessary to conduct the Establishment Survey (ES). 

The Establishment survey is the study of households aiming at determining the socio-demographic characteristics of the target groups, patterns of television audience behavior, and consumption of the television products. By applying the data from the ES it is possible to determine the characteristics and weights of the panel study. Furthermore, the purpose of the ES is the identification and selection of the potential participants of the panel: households selected during the ES, who agreed to participate in the subsequent study, and meet the required demographic criteria are eligible for participating in the TMI panel.

The size of the ES should be large enough to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the target audience with high precision. The regularity of conducting the ES is also important to ensure the availability of a sufficient number of households with relevant and diverse socio-demographic characteristics. According to the best practices developed by Kantar Media, ES should be conducted repeatedly to update the panel data as well as to be able to substitute households participating in the study. Besides, the frequent data collection through establishment surveys allows researchers to take into account the rapid technological development of the TV industry, the changing prevalence of reception types across the country, and the fluctuating socio-demographic characteristics of television audiences when processing and analyzing the data. 

Before launching the TAM study and building up the panel of households, the preferable size of the initial ES should be ten times the intended number of households on the panel study. When it comes to the subsequent waves of the ES, it is possible to have a sample size of five times the panel. The population of the ES, as well as the TMI’s TAM panel, consists of seven cities in Georgia with a population excessing 40,000 inhabitants: Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Gori, Poti, and Zugdidi. Thus, TMI’s panel covers up to 65% of Georgia's urban population living in cities where a significant share of the economically active population is concentrated.

The first ES study that preceded the development of the TAM panel pool was conducted in May and June 2015. The sample size of this study was ten times the panel size. The research company GORBI carried out the data collection. In 2015, respondents were randomly selected using probabilistic sampling methods, while the computer-based survey was conducted using face-to-face interviewing method. The fieldwork quality control was performed using GPS devices and GORBI developed software. In total, 6600 respondents were interviewed (3000 in Tbilisi, and 3600 respondents in the other six cities).

Starting from 2016, after establishing the TAM panel, TMI has been annually conducting five times the panel size surveys aligning with the best practices and standards set by the Georgian television industry. During those studies, households are selected randomly (45% in Tbilisi and 55% in the other six cities). From 2021, it is planned to increase the TMI panel resulting in acquiring the nationally representative data of Georgia. Due to the panel expansion, the scale and geography of the baseline survey will change. In addition to Tbilisi and other six large cities, household surveys will be conducted in other urban and rural settlements of Georgia. Given the needs of the panel and the characteristics of the Georgian television audience, the ES in this new geographical stratum will be conducted only in those settlements where more than 80% of the population speaks Georgian fluently. 

In the context of the ES, a household is defined as the unity of people who live in one dwelling and share a common budget. The dwelling is defined as a house or apartment that has its own, separated kitchen. If the residents of a particular residence do not have a kitchen for only personal use (for example, a patient in a hospital or a clinic, or a soldier living in barracks), then the residence is not considered as a household for the purpose of the ES. Following the household selection, interviews are conducted with decision-makers or the most informed members of the household. The survey questions are asked about the number of TVs the household possesses, sources of TV signal reception, patterns of TV channel viewership, and the socio-economic characteristics of all members of the household. At the end of the interview, information is also gathered regarding the participation of household members in any other panel studies and employment in the advertising or media organizations. Questions whether any member of the household is holding a high position in governmental institutions or is a member of any particular political party are also inquired. To avoid panel bias and conflict of interests, such households are not considered as potential participants of the TMI panel. The personal information of the households participating in the ES is confidential, protected, and regulated per Kantar standards.

Kantar statisticians are actively involved in the ES preparatory activities, research design and survey instrument development, as well as data processing and analysis. At the final stage of data analysis, they calculate the panel parameters and develop the weighting algorithm.