asiCast 191: MRC – perception and reality
We interviewed the Media Rating Council’s CEO George Ivie for the first time some three years ago and, in this interview, our Research Director, Richard Marks, asks him to help resolve some misunderstandings about the Council’s role that seem to have arisen over this period.
Of the two main functions of the MRC – the conducting of audits and the setting of standards – it is the standards issue that has had most of the focus, especially outside the US. In the main, this has been around the cross-platform video standards on viewability and duration. Are broadcasters misunderstanding what the standards are about?
They discuss how the audits the MRC conducts relate to the standards they establish and outline what the audit involves. Does the MRC audit process ensure that the companies do what they claim to be doing or does it also evaluate the fitness for purpose of the techniques being used?
Set up as a regulatory body by Congress in the US, the MRC is increasingly active internationally. Richard asks George about the jurisdiction the MRC has outside of the US and the extent of international involvement there is in the evolution of the Council’s standards process. What is the MRC’s relationship to other national regulatory authorities? There is a widely-held view that MRC accreditation is a very expensive process and a significant barrier to entry to the US market. Is this perception wrong?
The 2025 asi International Radio & Audio and Television & Video Conferences will be held on 5th-7th November in Copenhagen, Denmark.
George Ivie talks with Richard Marks:
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