This coincides with the findings from a customer consultation about the tendering of contracts that will deliver its services until the middle of the next decade. The findings confirmed that BARB’s existing strategic objectives fit with the industry’s requirement for robust, cross-platform measurement of television viewing.

Project Dovetail will deliver this through a hybrid measurement system of panel data and device-based data.

The first step in the delivery of Project Dovetail was taken in September when BARB introduced the TV Player Report, which is the first joint-industry, audited measure of online TV viewing.

The contracts with Kantar Media and Nielsen will allow BARB to determine which data fusion approach is best. RSMB has been commissioned to deliver an independent assessment of the two prototypes by June 2016.

BARB is moving onto rolling contracts for the provision of core services that were due to be tendered before the end of this year. The tender process for these is now expected to start during the final quarter of 2016.

It is also extending its programme of testing meters including people-meters, TV set meters and software meters for desktop, laptop and mobile computer devices from a number of research agencies.

Lynne Robinson, research director of the IPA and BARB board member, said: “Hybrid measurement is undoubtedly the way forward. However, the integration of new data sources has to be transparent, while there is the added complexity of making it work for a currency that delivers comprehensive data every day.”