This is really bad news for everyone except the networks.
4 Likes
Yep. Agree. Bad news expect to the actual viewer.
Lets see the three commercial networks spin the ratings even more. We will probably see crap like this from each:
Reach is the best indicator in the ratings. Our platform (7Plus. Nine’s version, 10Play etc) are the best. We got X hits, despite it being 5 seconds long… etc. Noone watches normal tv anymore.
1 Like
I still think the 5 city breakdown should be provided with this information
6 Likes
James Warburton has been pushing this way for some years now, and he has finally gotten in.
A quote from the article:
“The new VOZ reports will rank programs by audience reach (they will also give average total TV audience numbers nationally). Reach is the key performance metric for advertisers, and reach-ranked viewership provides a more comparable metric to other media, in particular online.
So the new Top 30 is “reach only”, with someone watching a particular show for 1 minute, compared to an average watching the show, which will be listed separately (or in a panel next to it)?
So really, 2.5 million could watch Seven and Nine News Headlines at the beginning of their 6pm News, then switch off, and that’s the number we will see (us in this forum can hopefully read between the lines)? Same to the last minute or two for The Chase Aus and Tipping Point Aus? Silly really.
1 Like
I expect each show to have a reach figure and an average figure with the ranking order based on the reach.
2 Likes
Thanks for the response. It’s made it a bit clearer, which is good.
As soon as we get used to one way of reporting, they come up with another way of reporting. Booo hisss to that. lol.
I’m hoping it will be easy sailing for you come Monday with the new way we these ratings @TV.Cynic
1 Like
The numbers will for sure be inflated because some viewers will only tune in for 1 minute, not good for advertisers
1 Like
While there is a lot I don’t like about this new ratings system, one benefit of the focus moving to reach data is it’s no longer in a network’s interest to split code a program.
It’s means we are no longer seeing 6pm news bulletins split in half and hopefully we should no longer be seeing separate data for “winner announced” in reality programs.
1 Like
One of my personal frustrations is the fact anything shorter than 10 mins will not be counted as a program in VOZ data. This means that individual episodes of Bluey will never appear in the new top 30 chart.
2 Likes
So. . not sure if I’ve got this right… if we only find out national ratings, we’ll never know how regional news bulletins or local shows (eg. Weekender, Creek to Coast) rate because they will be ranked way too low.
Is that right?
OzTAM will only publicly be providing the one top 30 overnight report.
Broadcasters will still have access to the full data set so if their publicty departments wish to release numbers for shows outside the top 30, they can.
4 Likes
That is a similar situation to what we have now but instead of a top 20 now presented it will be a top 30 so more potential for lower rated programs to make the list.
Although up until now we have received three overnight top 20 reports. (Metro, Multi-Channels, and Subscription). From Monday we will only get the one Top 30 report.
2 Likes
But don’t we get lists by market now? Top 20 in one market is different to Top 30 nationally?
2 Likes
Sadly, that is what it will look like, by the looks of it. One National Top 30, instead of the Top 20 Metro list. It certainly sucks.
In recent times, we have been receiving the Top 30 list in the afternoons (alongside the overnight lists in the mornings), which has Total TV, a metro list, regionals list and BVOD list. I’m assuming the new list will look something like this instead?
TV Blackbox podcast today looked at it in depth. Was a good discussion.
Agree - it’s worth a listen for anyone wanting to get their head around the changes.
While there are definitely positives about the new system (e.g., focus on national viewership rather than 5 city metro, getting peak + average numbers, etc), the amount of information that will no longer be publicly available (namely 5 city metro breakdowns and multichannel + Foxtel top 20) is a significant blow to ratings transparency.
2 Likes
Agree that it is both a positive and a negative.
The positive is getting a national number. And we do get to see the peak numbers (and hopefully no more “Winners Announced” for reality shows).
Negative is not see the five-city breakdown. No shares. No multi-channel list. No Foxtel numbers. A lot of things that have been reported for years, some ,decades like shares) no longer available to media.
1 Like
Transparency to who? The viewership?
There are only two groups where transparency is important - the networks and the advertisers, and they aren’t relying on the numbers that are posted on a couple of websites and in the newspapers. Even then, the networks game the system to their benefit to make the system more opaque.
Ratings are a necessary evil to adequately measure performance, but the unending quest for ratings glory has done significant damage to what we see on FTA - they’ve made every timeslot a competition where failing to have instantaneous success is nearly always punished which has resulted in some appallingly turgid television. It’s also turned our news into sensationalism that is designed to attract maximum viewership rather than informing people.
3 Likes