OzTAM set to report 28-day TV viewing figures
TV measurement service OzTAM has launched a set of numbers looking at 28-day viewing figures for shows to give networks and media buyers a “long-tail” look at audience habits.
Currently OzTAM provides figures for ‘catch-up’ viewing for seven days after a show first airs, taking into account time-shifted viewing from people who have recorded shows.
But according to the measurement body around 15-20% of catch-up viewing then happens in the following three weeks.OzTAM’s CEO Doug Peiffer said in a statement: “While the majority of playback activity happens within the first day or two, it’s not uncommon for people to ‘binge view’ a few weeks out – particularly with less time-sensitive genres such as dramas and movies.
“The introduction of 8-28 Day Time Shift data allows our clients to evaluate the longer-tail audience to television programs, providing a natural extension to OzTAM’s 7-Day Time Shift service.”
Mini-series, dramas and films are the most-watched shows in the extended time period, with the rise of “binge watching” cited for the phenomenon.
However OzTAM has stressed its overnight and 7 day catch up figures “remain the trading currency” for the industry.
In its guidelines on reporting numbers, OzTAM says: “When ‘Time Shift,’ ‘Playback’ or ‘Consolidated’ are used without qualification – i.e., no indication of ‘7’ or ‘28’ is given – it will be taken to mean 7 days. Kindly note, however, this reflects legacy use of unqualified terms and reporting rather than encouragement to continue doing so!”
The first 28-day figures will be available from this Sunday, April 3, looking at March 5’s shows.
Guidelines on using the new figures can be found here.
