Numeris

Numeris is a Canadian audience-measurement organization serving the television and radio industries. It traces its origins to the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, established on May 11, 1944, as a division of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. The organization was created to provide standardized information about broadcast audiences, allowing broadcasters, advertisers, agencies, and other media stakeholders to evaluate reach and usage across Canada's fragmented linguistic and regional markets. The organization has played a central role in the development of Canadian broadcast ratings. In 1964, it became the first ratings service in the world to introduce computerized sample selection, an early example of the use of computing technology to improve the design and administration of audience research. Its work has continued to combine methodological systems, respondent samples, and reporting services intended to estimate listening and viewing behavior rather than simply count individual broadcasts. The organization shortened its name to BBM Canada in 2001. Although the new name was intended to modernize the institution's public identity, media outlets continued to use the older Bureau of Broadcast Measurement terminology in some contexts. In the early 2000s, BBM Canada also began a major technological transition. In 2004, it entered a joint venture with Nielsen Media Research to adopt Nielsen's Portable People Meter technology for television audience measurement. The system uses electronic measurement rather than relying exclusively on participant diaries, and it became part of the ratings infrastructure for major Canadian markets. Radio measurement remains one of Numeris's principal activities. The organization traditionally used diary-based research for radio listening, and that approach continues in most Canadian markets. Portable People Meter measurement has also been used for radio in several of the country's largest markets, including Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. Television measurement is conducted through the Numeris-Nielsen arrangement in major markets and regions, including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal's English- and French-language markets, Ontario, and national services. The brand adopted the name Numeris on June 19, 2014. The rebrand introduced a new logo, created by Cundari, and the slogan "Audiences Count." The organization said that the BBM identity had become confusing and that its expanded name association evoked surveys and bureaucracy rather than a contemporary measurement service. The Numeris name was intended to emphasize data, audiences, and the organization's role in helping media businesses understand consumption. Numeris has also been involved in the changing economics and presentation of audience data. On August 28, 2022, it stopped publishing TV Topline Reports, marking a change in how some television audience information was distributed publicly. Its continuing role is primarily business-to-business: it supplies audience estimates and related measurement information to Canada's broadcast ecosystem, where the data supports programming decisions, advertising transactions, market analysis, and comparisons among stations, networks, programs, and regions.

Numeris originated as the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement, founded on May 11, 1944, by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Its initial purpose was to create a consistent basis for measuring broadcast audiences in Canada. Audience information was important to broadcasters seeking to understand the reach of their programming and to advertisers purchasing commercial time, but the country's regional, linguistic, and market differences made standardized measurement particularly important. A significant methodological milestone came in 1964, when the organization introduced computerized sample selection. It was the first ratings service in the world reported to have adopted this approach. Computerization helped formalize the process used to select and manage research samples and demonstrated the organization's early interest in applying new technologies to media measurement. The organization changed its public name to BBM Canada in 2001. The older Bureau of Broadcast Measurement name continued to appear in media usage, but BBM Canada became the organization's principal identity. In 2004, it entered a joint venture with Nielsen Media Research to introduce Portable People Meter technology for television audience measurement. This represented a shift toward electronic collection of viewing data and supported measurement in major Canadian television markets and national services. BBM Canada's use of the initials BBM later created a naming conflict with Research in Motion, whose BlackBerry Messenger service was also widely known as BBM. In December 2011, BBM Canada brought a trademark action alleging that the overlap caused public confusion, including calls from people who thought the two organizations were connected. Research in Motion argued that the businesses operated in unrelated fields. Canadian federal courts dismissed the case in 2012, and BBM Canada ultimately moved toward a different corporate and brand identity. On June 19, 2014, the organization became Numeris. The rebrand included a new logo developed by Cundari and the slogan "Audiences Count." The organization presented the change as a way to move away from associations with surveys and administrative bureaucracy and to better represent its contemporary role in audience data and media analytics. Numeris's radio services have historically relied heavily on diary-based research, which remains in use in most Canadian markets. Portable People Meter systems are used in major markets including Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. For television, the Numeris-Nielsen joint venture measures selected metropolitan markets, Ontario, and national ratings, including separate English- and French-language measurement in Montreal. The organization continued to adapt how it disseminated data as the media environment changed. On August 28, 2022, Numeris stopped publishing TV Topline Reports. Numeris remains focused on supplying audience estimates and related research services to Canada's broadcasters and the advertising and media industries.

1. 2022TV Topline Reports discontinued

   Numeris stops publishing TV Topline Reports.

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2. 2014Numeris brand launches

   BBM Canada rebrands as Numeris and introduces the "Audiences Count" slogan.

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3. 2004Portable People Meter joint venture begins

   BBM Canada begins a joint venture with Nielsen Media Research to use Portable People Meter technology for television audience measurement.

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4. 2001Name shortened to BBM Canada

   The organization adopts BBM Canada as its shortened public name.

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5. 1964Computerized sample selection introduced

   The organization becomes the first ratings service reported to introduce computerized sample selection.

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6. 1944Bureau of Broadcast Measurement is established

   The Canadian Association of Broadcasters establishes the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement as a Canadian broadcast-audience measurement service.

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A specialized Canadian media-research organization that provides standardized audience data for broadcasters, advertisers, agencies, and other participants in the television and radio markets.

• Television audience measurementAudience measurement

  Numeris provides television audience estimates for major Canadian markets, selected regions, and national services. Measurement includes English- and French-language markets in Montreal as well as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ontario, and national ratings. The service supports programming analysis, advertising valuation, and comparisons of television reach and viewing behavior.

• Radio audience measurementAudience measurement

  Radio research is one of Numeris's core activities. The organization has traditionally used diary-based systems to record listening behavior, with that approach continuing in most Canadian markets. In several of Canada's largest markets, radio measurement also uses Portable People Meter technology to produce audience estimates.

• Portable People Meter servicesElectronic audience measurement2004

  Through its relationship with Nielsen, Numeris uses Portable People Meter technology for audience measurement in selected television and radio markets. The electronic system complements or replaces diary-based approaches in specified markets and is designed to capture media exposure through portable measurement devices.

• TV Topline ReportsAudience report

  TV Topline Reports were a published form of Numeris television audience information. Numeris ended their publication on August 28, 2022, so they are no longer an active public reporting product.

• 2014Numeris brand relaunch

  Canada

  The organization introduced the Numeris name, a new logo designed by Cundari, and the slogan "Audiences Count" as part of a repositioning of its Canadian audience-measurement brand.

  Outcome. The Numeris identity replaced BBM Canada as the organization's primary brand.

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• 2022End publication of TV Topline ReportsStrategy

  Numeris changed the way selected television audience information was made available publicly.

  What changed. The organization ceased publishing TV Topline Reports on August 28, 2022.

  Aftermath. The reports were discontinued; the available reference material does not specify the organization's broader reporting policy after the change.

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• 2014Rebrand BBM Canada as NumerisStrategy

  The BBM name was considered outdated and was also associated with Research in Motion's BlackBerry Messenger service after the failed trademark dispute.

  What changed. The organization adopted Numeris, launched a new visual identity, and introduced the slogan "Audiences Count."

  Aftermath. Numeris became the organization's principal brand and emphasized audience data rather than its former BBM identity.

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• 2004Adopt Portable People Meter technology through a Nielsen joint ventureStrategy

  The organization sought to expand and modernize television audience measurement beyond traditional research methods.

  What changed. BBM Canada entered a joint venture with Nielsen Media Research to use Portable People Meter technology for television ratings.

  Aftermath. Portable People Meter measurement became part of the ratings infrastructure for major Canadian television markets and national services.

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• 2022Numeris ends publication of TV Topline Reports

  Numeris ceased publishing its TV Topline Reports on August 28, 2022, changing the public availability of a category of television audience information.

  Other
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• 2014BBM Canada adopts the Numeris name and launches a new brand identity

  BBM Canada rebranded as Numeris, introducing a new logo and the slogan "Audiences Count" to present the organization as a modern audience-measurement provider.

  Other
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• 2012Federal court dismisses BBM Canada trademark case

  Canadian federal courts dismissed BBM Canada's trademark action against Research in Motion as without merit. BBM Canada subsequently selected a different name for the organization.

  Lawsuit
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• 2011BBM Canada files trademark lawsuit against Research in Motion over the BBM name

  BBM Canada sued Research in Motion, alleging that the company's use of the BBM acronym for BlackBerry Messenger created confusion and led some users to believe the organizations were affiliated.

  Lawsuit
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1. Numeris
2. Numeris official website