The television industry of the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan has announced that it will employ Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM), an electronic passive measurement device, to determine TV
ratings. With 15 million people, 60 AM stations, 17 FM stations, and 12 broadcast TV stations, oil and natural gas-rich Kazakhstan is a big market for American brands including Colgate, Procter &
Gamble, and Unilever. Media buying firms MindShare and StarCom both have headquarters in Almaty, the capital. The $200 million TV ad market is expected to grow by 30-35% a year in the near future.
Various media firms and broadcasters have already embraced PPM technology for ratings in Belgium, Canada, and Singapore.
--Erik Sass
