Analysis of the ratings system

The 2022 ratings years starts on Sunday 26 December. It will run for 53 weeks until Saturday December 31.

The “ratings” period will start in week 7 on 6 February and run until 26 November with the Easter break running 10 - 23 April.

For the new ratings year that stated this week:

This table shows the estimated TV audience for each of the 5 city markets that will be used by OzTAM for its 2022 analysis (in '000’s) plus the population for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017. 2018 was the first year that Melbourne potentially had the highest TV audience.

This year OzTAM are expecting a only a 0.1% increase in population in the 5-city catchment area over 2021; significantly less than any previous year. The increase from 2020 to 2021 was 0.5%.

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This year OzTAM introduced the VOZ ratings reports. According to OzTAM.

“This is where VOZ comes to the fore, as the only service in this market that can deliver Total TV measurement, with demographic profiles, across all screens and devices nationally.

VOZ data clearly shows the future of TV is linear + BVOD, and enables us to track how the Total TV marketplace continues to evolve .”

Since then OzTAM has also been sending through daily a completely different set of numbers under the title of Daily Consolidated 7 Total TV ratings.

The difference according to OzTAM:

Daily Consolidated 7 Total TV Program Ranking reports contain the numbers that most accurately reflect performance of a piece of content over that week because BVOD is an increasingly significant portion of the audience for many programs.

BUT:

Please note that the Daily Consolidated 7 Total TV Program Ranking reports do not contain VOZ data and should not be labelled or sourced VOZ . Although they draw on key inputs to VOZ, the audience thousands are not de-duplicated and do not include viewing in the new ‘Rest of Australia’ market that lies outside OzTAM and Regional TAM coverage areas. For details, please see the FAQs accompanying this email.

Weekly VOZ National Consolidated 7 Total TV Program Ranking reports provide true national, de-duplicated cross-device viewing and BVOD incremental audience figures.

However, while the Total TV ratings reports have been delivered on a daily basis, the last VOZ Report was from week 50 of 2021 almost 1 month ago.

If the networks through OzTAM want us to take notice of these reports they need to fix a few things. Namely the inconsistent results across reports with different parameters being used for each. For example, shows that are less than 10 minutes long do not appear on the Total TV reports. In addition, the delivery of the VOZ reports needs to greatly improve.

In the end it will come down to which data the advertising agencies chose to believe in and base their spending on.

If you are not used to checking out the ratings archive - see the latest post that has the final numbers for 2021 Calendar Year with 28-day consolidated share and top programming results.

https://forums.mediaspy.org/t/2021-calendar-year/19177/4?u=tv.cynic

OzTAM:

Please note that the ratings reports will be delayed this morning.

How come RegionalTAM only covers the eastern markets plus WA? Is it as simple as Mildura, Griffith, Darwin, Central and the four SA markets being too small or is there more to it?

For Mildura and Griffith at least, since RegionalTAM already monitor the adjacent main markets for their respective state, would it be difficult to expand their coverage to include those two markets?

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I think Regional TAM should cover all markets, except the five major state capitals.

Seven West Media CEO James Warburton said in a speech at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia in Sydney today that overnight TV ratings should be abolished, as they were outdated and did not reflect the way people watch television. He said (per SMH report):

The challenge I put to my TV peers is: let’s get rid of overnights, even for just a month, and start to tell the real story.
That’s what happens in the UK and the US where they focus on three days and seven days.

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He’s only saying that because Seven is currently tanking in overnights and only looks good on catchup as it stands.

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Media buyers split on move away from daily overnights

I thought this comment was interesting and agree with it. It media buyers don’t see overnight ratings for where they have placed their adds they start to stop thinking about those placements and look elsewhere.

“There is a danger though,” he added. “There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Scriven said with the industry being so used to seeing the dailies come through, “if we turn that tap off, it would be challenging”.

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Mr Warburton called on the television industry to start releasing daily combined broadcast and BVOD data.

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Perhaps it has been exacerbated by the regional stations now carrying the same branding as metro stations? If you’re channel surfing and see the Seven or Nine watermark on the screen you can’t really tell if you’re watching the metro or regional equivalent these days unless you look for the TV’s LCN.

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Average Audience ‘000s | Survey Year to Date (YTD) Through Period 1* (06/02/2022 – 02/07/2022)

Nielsen TAM has begun reissuing data for the period 8th June–9th September, to correct Nielsen’s misallocation of spill viewing in certain overlap areas between metro and regional markets.

This meant that viewing to Network 7 (all markets where spill occurs) and to Network Nine Sydney/WIN 9 (Wollongong) was allocated to spill – and therefore not included in ratings estimates – whereas that viewing should have been allocated to Network 7 or, in the case of 9 programming, WIN.

Top line results for the period follow.

Impact on 7 Network and 5 City Metro Total TV | Top Line Results, Data Reprocess Metropolitan Total TV viewing, 8 th June–2 nd July (‘Period 1’), Consolidated 7 for Total Individuals incl. Guests.

Note: the misallocation of spill viewing for Network Nine Sydney/WIN 9 (Wollongong) did not occur in Period 1.

Overall

Total TV Audience : static at 2.57m viewers in prime time

Spill Audience of 9,000 across the day (2am-2am), or 21,000 (6pm-midnight), has been re-allocated to metro channels, representing 0.8% of all viewing in Period 1.

Average Audience ‘000s | Change in Period 1

7 Network 5 City Metro (5CM) rose

  • +9,000 (3.6%) all day (2am-2am)

  • +21,000 (3.7%) 6pm-midnight

7 Network Sydney increased

  • +7,000 (13.7%) all day

  • +15,000 (13.4%) 6pm-midnight

7 Network Primary Channel audience in Sydney increased

  • +4,000 (10.3%) all day

  • +9,000 (11.4%) 6pm-midnight

Average Audience ‘000s | Survey Year to Date (YTD) Through Period 1*

Seven Network rose

  • +4,000 (0.6%) 5CM 6pm-midnight:

  • +3,000 in Sydney; +1,000 in Brisbane

Total TV Share | Change in Period 1

7 Network 5CM rose

  • +0.7 Total TV (TTL TV) Share Points all day

  • +0.8 TTL TV Share Points 6pm-midnight

7 Network Sydney increased

    • 2.1 Share Points all day
    • 2.2 Share Points 6pm-midnight

7 Sydney Primary Channel share increased

  • +1.2 Share Points all day

  • +1.2 Share Points 6pm-midnight

7 Network Brisbane share rose +0.5 points 6pm-midnight

7 Network Melbourne share rose +0.3 points 6pm-midnight

7 Network Perth share rose +0.1 points 6pm-midnight

No change for 7 Network Adelaide

No change for 9, 10, ABC, SBS and STV channels/networks in all markets

Total TV Share | Survey Year to Date (YTD) Through Period 1*

7 Network 5CM increased 0.1 Share Point

  • +0.4 in Sydney

    • 0.1 in Brisbane

Programming | Change in Period 1

97% of all free-to-air (FTA) programming remains unchanged

0.09% (87 programs out of a total of 18,352) increased by >10,000:

  • the highest was to a single episode (30/6/2022) of Home and Away in Sydney, gaining +27,000, so moving from 90,000 to 117,000

7 News Sydney (Sunday to Saturday) increased by just over 16,000 during the period

  • No change to other markets
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Reprocessed data - Period 2

Nielsen TAM is reissuing data for the period 8th June–9th September 2022, to correct Nielsen’s misallocation of spill viewing in certain overlap areas between metro and regional markets.

This meant that viewing to Network 7 (all markets where spill occurs) and to 9 Network Sydney/WIN 9 (Wollongong) was allocated to spill – and therefore not included in ratings estimates – whereas that viewing should have been allocated to Network 7 or, in the case of 9 programming, WIN.

The second of three batches of Nielsen’s reprocessed, corrected data (covering 3rd–30th July) will be released to Third Party Software Suppliers (TPSS) for provision to data users on 7th November. The final batch will be released on 21st November (31st July–9th September).

OzTAM data subscribers should reach out to their TPSS for advice on when they expect the reprocessed data will be available in their software.

Top line results for the period follow.

Channels and markets affected by the re-issue date range (3rd – 30th July)

  • 7 Network channels in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and spill-in Seven Network channels from Wollongong, Newcastle, Gippsland, Northern Rivers and WA.

  • Note : this period includes two days of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (29th & 30th July).

Channels and markets affected by part of the re-issue date range (14th – 30th July)

  • 9 Network channels in Sydney and spill-in 9 Network channels from Wollongong.

Impact on 7 Network, 9 Network Sydney/WIN (Wollongong) and 5 City Metro Total TV Top Line Results, Data Reprocess

Metropolitan Total TV viewing, 3 rd – 30 th July (‘Period 2’), Consolidated 7 for Total Individuals incl. Guests

Overall

  • Total TV Audience : static at 2.59m viewers in prime time

  • Spill Audiences of 11,000 across the day (2am-2am), or 25,000 6pm-midnight, have been re-allocated to metro channels, representing 0.9% of all viewing in Period 2.

Average Audience ‘000s | Change in Period 2

  • 7 Network 5 City Metro (5CM) rose

○ +10,000 (4.0%) all day (2am-2am)

○ +23,000 (4.0%) 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Network Sydney increased

○ +7,000 (12.7%) all day

○ +17,000 (14.2%) 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Network Primary Channel audience in Sydney increased

○ +5,000 (11.6%) all day

○ +11,000 (12.6%) 6pm-midnight

  • 9 Network 5 City Metro (5CM) rose

○ +1,000 (0.4%) all day (2am-2am)

○ +2,000 (0.3%) 6pm-midnight

  • 9 Network Sydney increased

○ +1,000 (1.2%) all day

○ +2,000 (1.1%) 6pm-midnight

Average Audience ‘000s | Survey Year to Date (YTD) through Period 2*

  • 7 Network rose

○ +4,000 (0.6%) 5CM 6pm-midnight:

○ +3,000 in Sydney; +1,000 in Brisbane; +1,000 in Perth

  • 9 Network 5CM: no change

Total TV Share | Change in Period 2

  • 7 Network 5CM rose

○ +0.8 Total TV (TTL TV) Share Points all day

○ +0.9 TTL TV Share Points 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Network Sydney increased

○ + 2.1 Share Points all day

○ + 2.3 Share Points 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Sydney Primary Channel share increased

○ +1.4 Share Points all day

○ +1.4 Share Points 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Network Melbourne share rose +0.3 points 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Network Brisbane share rose +0.5 points 6pm-midnight

  • 7 Network Perth share rose +0.3 points 6pm-midnight

  • No change for 7 Network Adelaide

  • 9 Network increased

○ +0.1 Share Points 5CM 6pm-midnight

○ +0.3 Share Points in Sydney 6pm-midnight

  • No change for all 10, ABC, SBS and STV channels/networks in all markets

Total TV Share | Survey Year to Date (YTD) Through Period 2* | 6pm-Midnight

  • 7 Network 5CM increased 0.2 Share Points

○ +0.4 in Sydney

○ + 0.1 in Brisbane

○ +0.1 in Melbourne

No change in Adelaide or Perth

  • 9 Network 5CM: no change

  • No change to all 10, ABC, SBS and STV networks and channels

Programming | Change in Period 2

  • 96% of all FTA program results remain unchanged

  • 0.1% (or 120 programs from around 20,400 per market; 100,000+ in total) increased by >10,000:

  • the highest was approx. 41,000 (Seven News – Sat, on the opening weekend of the Commonwealth Games)

  • No change to other markets

*06/02/2022 30/07/2022, Excluding Easter (weeks 16 & 17)

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