The first EBU conference on Big Data (22-23 March) highlighted the opportunities for public service media (PSM) organizations to strengthen trust and personalize their relationship with audiences.

In his opening speech, EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot said: “The challenge is to create a mutual relationship with audiences and develop a more personalised media offer. We need to look at how we can better understand audiences and produce better content for them.”

He stressed that integrating Big Data in PSM organizations’ strategies and changing internal cultures are crucial to ‘revisit our DNA’ and translate the public remit into the digital world. The EBU can play a crucial role to help PSM by offering a ‘centre of expertise and excellence for big data’.

He added: “Data collection and analytics represent a game changer for PSM. We need to develop algorithms that reflect our principles – accountability, diversity, innovation, excellence, universality and independence.”

Panels on the first day of the event brought together representatives from EBU Members who have already developed strategies around data collection and usage alongside experts from the press, independent production and telecoms sectors. Discussions covered a broad range of topics: new audience measurement techniques, developing new programmes from data, trust and privacy for audiences, generating value and offering audiences personalized recommendation systems.

In his keynote speech, Financial Times Head of Analytics Robin Goad looked back on how Big Data has become a centerpiece of his company’s overall strategy and how it helps the group compensate for a declining print readership. “Data is powering how we get new subscribers”, he said.

“We need to reach out to new audiences and increase our reach – not just publish cheap content that attracts lots of people. We want quality reach – a data driven strategy. We look at what stories, what type of product brings readers back again and again.”

Having a focus on the quality of data, rigourous testing, a chief data officer in a strategic position at corporate level and considering data collection as a core investment were all part of the Financial Times’ recipe to transform itself into a digital media organization offering personalized services for readers, according to Robin Goad.

EBU Director of Public Affairs and Communications and EBU Big Data initiative leader Guillaume Klossa wrapped up discussions on 22 March: “Big Data should help us to better understand reality. The challenge for us is to develop a mind-set to integrate this dimension. We are much stronger together – at the beginning of this learning process – and we need to unite to better understand and develop our strategy to lead, rather than follow.”

On 23 March, EBU Members shared views and ideas in thematic workshops focusing on trust with audiences, recommendation systems, data journalism and developing the right management and skills internally. As part of EBU Big Data week, a hackathon with RTS in Geneva continued in the afternoon.

The EBU Big Data initiative continues with specific workflows addressing the various key topics for PSM. The EBU expects to propose recommendations and principles for PSM on big data by the end of 2016 for the EBU Winter General Assembly.

Event presentations and video interviews with key event speakers will be available soon on the EBU website. In the meantime, stay updated via #EBUBigData on Twitter.