German TV ratings provider AGF Videoforschung is to integrate HbbTV-based return-channel data into its national audience measurement system, marking a major change to the methodology used to measure TV viewing in the country.
The integration forms part of a comprehensive overhaul of AGF’s research system that is scheduled to enter operation from 2028. Under the new architecture, the organisation will combine its established representative panel measurement with anonymised usage data collected directly from connected TV devices.
AGF presented the plans at its AGF Forum in Frankfurt on 17 September 2026, where around 300 representatives from the media, advertising and research industries gathered under the theme “See Beyond the Screen”. The upgraded system will consist of five interconnected components, with the integration of return-path data forming the first element.
HbbTV data to supplement AGF panel
AGF’s panel will remain the methodological and modelling benchmark, but will be supplemented by HbbTV usage data. The data is currently modelled on the basis of more than 1.7 million devices with actual measured usage. The target architecture is expected to cover around 3.4 million measured devices.
This will create what AGF describes as a hybrid data foundation, combining representative panel data with a large pool of anonymised device-level information. The objective is to improve the representation of fragmented viewing scenarios, particularly for smaller offerings and niche target groups.
The move follows a proof-of-concept launched by AGF in May 2025. The six-month trial was conducted with technology partner TV Insight and involved around 100 broadcasters. It tested whether return-channel data from HbbTV-enabled television sets and Sky Deutschland set-top boxes could enhance the existing panel-based measurement. Viewers were required to give explicit consent for the collection of data through banners displayed on participating HbbTV channels.
The project was extended in 2026 as AGF continued to work through the methodological and technical requirements.
AGF’s latest plans indicate that the HbbTV data will not replace the panel. Instead, the two sources will be combined, allowing the panel to provide the representative basis while device-level data supplies much greater granularity on actual usage.
Austria provides a reference point
The approach has already been implemented in Austria. The Austrian Teletest 2.0 system, launched in September 2024, supplements traditional panel measurement with real-time usage data from more than one million HbbTV devices. After 200 days of operation, AGTT and Screenforce Österreich reported positive results, including a significant reduction in zero-reach readings.
The Austrian implementation provided an important reference for AGF as it explored the use of HbbTV return-channel data in Germany. The German project is nevertheless being developed within AGF’s own national measurement framework, with the established panel retaining its role as the representative benchmark.
Five-part architecture for 2028
In Germany, AGF is not only integrating HbbTV data with its existing panel, but also developing a broader architecture covering linear television, connected TV and streaming services. The organisation has also had to accommodate measurement of global platforms such as Amazon Prime Video.
The new system will therefore extend beyond return-channel data. AGF plans a dedicated connected TV device category covering streaming and static-display usage on the big screen, including shared viewing.
A virtual panel comprising around 800,000 synthetically generated cases is also planned. It is intended to mirror the representative AGF panel and represent the wider video universe at person level, bringing together linear TV, streaming and static display on a deduplicated basis.
AGF is additionally developing a new digital data model that will work with individual usage elements rather than only predefined aggregates. Measured views will be transferable at a granular level, down to individual videos, allowing deduplicated net reach to be calculated for freely selected combinations of content offerings and time periods.
The fifth component in AGF’s new approach is cross-media campaign measurement, which will extend AGF’s measurement scope from content to campaigns. Planned metrics include deduplicated net reach, target-group structures and incremental reach across media and channels.
To support this, AGF is developing cross-platform campaign IDs and metadata. The resulting data is intended to be integrated into reporting systems and made available through APIs.
The roadmap envisages 2027 as a transition and testing year, during which the individual components will be tested progressively and moved into parallel operation. From January 2028, the new dataset could become the sole measurement standard.
Measuring an increasingly fragmented video market
The move towards greater use of device-level data comes as traditional TV measurement faces an increasingly fragmented video market. AGF’s “Video 2030” study, presented at the AGF Forum, found that overall video consumption remains high but that viewing is shifting significantly from linear to non-linear consumption. Global aggregators, new gatekeepers and AI are also gaining influence over content production, discovery and consumption.
For AGF, the challenge is therefore not simply to collect more viewing data, but to create a common measurement framework in which increasingly diverse forms of video consumption can be compared.
“The market does not simply need more numbers; it needs a common frame of reference,” said Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf, CEO of AGF Videoforschung, at the AGF Forum in Frankfurt. “We need to look beyond the screen and understand how data is generated, what it represents and whether media are being measured on a comparable basis.”
AGF stresses need for independent national measurement standard
The AGF Forum concluded with the panel discussion “The Future of Video”, moderated by journalist Juliane Paperlein. Andrea Biebl (iProspect/Dentsu X/MWO), Dirk Bruns (YouTube), Kristina Bulle (Procter & Gamble/OWM), Frank Vogel (Ad Alliance) and Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf discussed shifting advertising budgets, the requirements for independent and comparable measurement, and the integration of global platforms into a common market standard.
Bulle advocated for independent measurement and welcomed the fact that, alongside local providers, Amazon is also participating in AGF measurement. During the debate over the comparability of proprietary platform data, Bruns said: “There will continue to be a variety of data sources, each of which has its own value. At the same time, there is no question that AGF remains the standard for video measurement in Germany.”
Niederauer-Kopf concluded: “Independent audience measurement must remain transparent, comprehensible and verifiable. This is not an area where we can afford to become complacent. It is our responsibility to provide the market with exactly that – and it is the responsibility of clients and agencies to demand it.”
