Introduction to Analytics and Audience Measurement

Introduction to Analytics and Audience Measurement

Introduction

Icareus Audience measurement is used to analyse live and linear video or TV viewing. It tells you how your viewers watch your channels or events.

Platforms

Icareus Audience measurement is supported by all Icareus developed user experiences on the following platforms:
  1. Web
  2. Mobile
  3. OTT clients
  4. Smart TV
  5. HbbTV
Further platforms are added in due course.
Icareus can provide the necessary integration points and client side javascript libraries also to 3rd parties to integrate to their applications.
You may want to familiarise also to Icareus Pixel for AddressableTV to see how the integration is done.

Collected Raw Data and Method

Icareus audience measurement collects raw data on the viewing. On request Icareus can configure and fine-tune the collected data and its parameters.

Process of data collection is:
  1. Device is registered to Icareus device database, and given an unique UDID (universal device ID) if not provided by the device itself
  2. UDID is stored to Cookie, Session or persistent memory depending on the platform
  3. Device starts sending viewing data as configured. The reporting interval is configurable, the default value is 10 minutes.
The following data is stored to the raw data
Data
Description
User Agent
user agent of the connected device
Program
The EPG event played during the time, if available
Location
Location of the device
IP address HASH
Hash of the IP address
Timestamp
timestamp of the reporting event
ServiceId
Icareus internal ID for the channel
Reporting Event Type
Type of the reporting event sent to analytics system. e.g. tune-in to an channel

Configuration options

Audience measurement allows the following configuration options. Options are per Icareus Suite account and needs to be set by Icareus.

Configuration
Possible values
Default value
Explanation
Collection mode
disabled | invisible | opt-in | opt-out
invisible
Audience measuremnt can be done in invisible mode when users are not notified of it, users can be requested for opt-in or they are by defaul opted-in, but can opt-out from the data collection
Device UUID persistence time
days
45
how long the raw data is stored, before it is deleted. E.g. has impact on the accuracy of the unique device counts, if a device is regenerated each day
Reporting frequency seconds
600
The time interval (heartbeat) that device send an event to server that it is still alive on the channel.
IP Address collection
true | false
false
Whether the system stores IP Address of an device or not









GDPR Considerations

The European GDPR requires that users are informed, if data is collected on them. It should be noted that  GDPR treats online identifiers and location data as personal data, and therefore demands they be protected in the same way as other identifiers, like information on the genetic, economic, or psychological identity of a data subject.
Icareus is the Processor of customer's i.e. Controllers data. Icareus Audience measurement solution can be configured to meet GDPR requirements per customer's wishes.

By Default the following actions have been taken to comply with GDPR.
  1. No IP -addresses are stored in database
  2. All data is anonymised for analytics purposes, persistent storages
  3. Device databases can be purged at pre-configured intervals as agreed with the customer
  4. Raw data is stored only temporarily for a period of 45 days, allowed by GDPR for troubleshooting

Integrations to enhance data

EPG

Majority of the devices cannot provide EPG data by default, but EPG data can offer valuable insight to channel viewing. Icareus system can add this data to raw data that is reported from its own data sources. The EPG data for a channel can be fetched from 3rd party system via the various EPG connectors offered by the platform.

Location

Icareus Suite is integration IP2Location data service for the geolocation and goes into City level.

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