A 75-home test panel has been in place since June 2010 but Barb now plans to install software meters in 100 homes that are already part of its existing TV measurement panel. Throughout 2012 it plans to gradually increase the number of metered homes to 1,100.

Barb chief executive Bjarne Thelin (pictured) said: “We will continually consider and verify the web TV measurement technique so that we can confirm the appropriateness of this approach for Barb. Following this initial stage we’ll evaluate the value of proceeding further and with the industry we will assess how this data can best be utilised and applied.”

He added: “The prospect of a measurement which enables web-TV viewing to be examined alongside television set viewing, from a single source, will have a number of applications. It’s likely that the greatest initial learnings will come from data aggregated over time.”