Along with a “broad coalition” of cable, satellite and telco organisations, the duo aim to “foster consistency and enable accumulation of this date across MVPDs (Multi-Channel Video Programming Distributors) for the industry”.

NCC and the MRC are currently collaborating to develop best practices for terms, definitions and calculations for accumulating digital viewership data which will include specific recommendations for data processing procedures, data capturing, editing and reporting.

Another section will focus on providing guidance for privacy and security safeguards and appropriate consumer notice and communication.

Once the guidelines have been drafted, the MRC will gather input and feedback from programmers, content providers, advertisers, media researchers and other sections of the media industry.

MRC chief executive George Ivie said: “The MRC is pleased to participate with NCC Media and MVPDs on this initiative particularly because it will set the foundation for incorporating digital video viewership into the industry’s toolset for audience measurement. This will enable the responsible leveraging of this valuable, granular data by our industry.”

Earlier this year, industry body the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement published a set of common terms for use in the analysis and processing of set-top box data for audience measurement.