The event was attended by Mr. Le Quoc Minh – Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Head of the Central Commission for Propaganda and Mass Mobilization, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, and Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association. From international delegations, Mr. Phosy Keomanivong, Deputy Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism of Laos, and Ms. Simmany Keokene, Director General of Lao National Television, were also present. Representing Vietnam Television were Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam, Member of the Government Party Committee, Party Secretary, and General Director of VTV; Mr. Vu Van Hien, former Party Central Committee Member and former General Director of VTV; Mr. Do Thanh Hai, Standing Deputy General Director of VTV, along with other former VTV leaders. The event also welcomed many broadcasters and participants from across the country attending the 42nd National Television Festival.
As Vietnamese television enters the era of data and digital technology, the rise of the internet and digital platforms has changed the way audiences consume content. This shift has raised pressing questions: How can we accurately measure audience behavior? How can we optimize content strategies to meet audience needs? The launch of VTV Ratings is VTV’s response to these pressing challenges.
The delegates press the button to officially launch VTV Ratings – the audience measurement system of VTV.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Mr. Le Quang Tu Do – Director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism – expressed his delight at the debut of VTV Ratings. He highly appreciated the fact that VTV is the first broadcaster in the country to independently announce its audience ratings, noting that as a major broadcaster, VTV's influence extends to the entire national television market.
The Director noted that regulatory bodies have long wanted to change the way television ratings are published, as the current measurement largely depends on foreign providers, making verification difficult. He reiterated that the Authority will continue to accompany and support VTV in implementing its audience measurement system.
Mr. Le Quang Tu Do speaking at the VTV Ratings launch ceremony.
In his remarks, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam, General Director of VTV, emphasized that digital platforms have become central to content consumption, not only for viewing but also for interaction and engagement.
He announced a key development: starting April 2025, Samsung, the leading smart TV manufacturer in Vietnam, will pre-install the VTVgo app on all new TV models, with a dedicated shortcut button on the remote controls. “It may seem like a small step, but it has huge implications in our fight to expand our presence in the digital space. That one button press can make or break us in the content game. If we’re not visible on that interface, we can’t win”, Mr. Lam said.
TV remote integrated with a shortcut button for the VTVgo app.
VTVgo currently has over 50 million downloads, with over 100,000 new downloads weekly, and 9–10 million monthly active users, including around 1 million users accessing via smart TVs. This generates a massive dataset on viewer behavior, providing real-time insights into television consumption.
“With the data we own, VTV must find ways to analyze and extract statistically sound audience metrics. This system meets four key national data criteria: accurate, sufficient, clean, and live. Owning and understanding our data opens up countless new opportunities”, Mr. Lam stated.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Lam, General Director of Vietnam Television (VTV), shares his thoughts at the VTV Ratings launch ceremony.
VTV Ratings – A Modern, Transparent Audience Metric
VTV Ratings is a comprehensive multiplatform audience measurement system that leverages multi-source behavioral data from VTV’s TV channels and digital services. The use Big Data and data science represents a necessary evolution for VTV to keep pace with global media trends.
While traditional panel-based methods (e.g., People Meter) have been widely used for years, they suffer from delayed updates and limited ability to reflect current viewer behavior. In contrast, VTV Ratings uses real-time, multi-source data, delivering greater accuracy, transparency, and scope.
This system is not only of strategic value to VTV but is also expected to benefit local broadcasters across the country by providing up-to-the-minute insight into program performance and supporting informed decision-making.
In an increasingly competitive media market, reliable audience metrics are critical for advertisers and agencies to build effective campaigns. With VTV Ratings, VTV introduces a trusted data source that helps partners plan and evaluate their communication strategies more effectively.
VTV Ratings lays the foundation for personalized content, optimized advertising, and trend prediction. The system will continue to evolve with AI technology, advanced data, and in-depth analytics, helping VTV maintain its leadership in the digital media.
Built through collaboration between VTV’s internal departments and external partners, the system ensures that its data is publicly accessible, transparent, accurate, and completely free of charge. More than just a data project, VTV Ratings represents a story of innovation and adaptation in the evolving television ecosystem.
Big Data – A New Standard in Audience Measurement
VTV Ratings collects audience data across VTV’s TV and digital platforms from multiple sources, including traditional broadcast systems, smart TVs, OTT platforms, and internet-connected devices. This methodology accurately reflects viewing habits of today's audiences.
Traditionally, the most common method of audience measurement has been the the Panel system—a group of randomly selected representative households equipped with People Meters. These devices collected data on television viewing habits from a sample of viewers, which was then used to estimate the total audience. However, this method had a major limitation: data was updated slowly and could not reflect viewers' habits in real time.
To overcome this limitation, VTV Ratings now utilizes Big Data collected from multiple sources, including Smart TVs, OTT platforms, digital TV systems, and transmission signals from end-user devices. This system gathers data in real time, processes it using AI technology, and performs in-depth analysis.
Key Differences: People Meter vs. Big Data
- Sample size: People Meter uses a small sample; Big Data collects from millions of devices.
- Speed: People Meter has a lag; Big Data offers instant updates.
- Accuracy: People Meter relies on user input; Big Data is automatically collected, reducing human error.
With Big Data, the data collected from millions of devices is processed through multiple steps:
- Data cleansing to remove duplicates and errors
- Synchronization with other sources for consistency
- AI-based analysis to identify viewing behaviors
- Real-time reporting, enabling stakeholders to act on up-to-date insights
What Benefits Will VTV Ratings Bring?
- Accurate, transparent data reflecting real viewer behavior
- Support for producers in content development and scheduling
- Improved ad targeting and campaign effectiveness for advertisers
To ensure a high level of security, VTV Ratings’ data is strictly monitored and complies with Vietnamese laws on information security, cybersecurity, and personal data protection. At the same time, it is easily accessible on the online platform ratings.vtv.vn.
VTV Ratings – a transparent and modern audience measurement index – provides Vietnam Television (VTV) and its partners with a precise and comprehensive view of their audience. This marks a breakthrough in television measurement, and confirms VTV’s pioneering role in technology and data within the Vietnamese broadcasting industry.
