Seven CEO Tim Worner calls for the end of overnight TV ratings
Tim Worner, CEO of Seven West Media, has used an Advertising Week dinner panel packed with television CEOs to call for the end of overnight TV ratings which are perpetuating falsities.
During a Think TV dinner discussion moderated by the managing editor of The Australian Financial Review Joanne Gray – which was somewhat derailed by the Nine Fairfax merger – Worner said OzTAM should only provide overnight network share, not the figures for individual program performance, as they are inaccurate.
Tim Worner (Seven), Patrick Delany (Foxtel), Kim Portrate (Think TV), Hugh Marks (Nine) and Paul Anderson (Ten) put down the weapons to talk about the power of TV
Worner said the figures for a program should not be released until 28 days after its initial screening on linear television in order to more accurately reflect both live viewing numbers and catch-up audiences.
“I don’t believe we should provide overnight numbers. I think we should provide overnight shares, and then once we actually know what the total audience for a show is, that’s when we should provide the number. Not before, when we’re actually providing a number that’s misleading, because it’s not the total audience of the show,” he said.
When pushed by Gray on how this would work given audiences are catching up in perpetuity, Worner said: “You can know what a total is after seven days, after 28 days.”
CEO of Ten, Paul Anderson, said more focus needed to be put on catch-up TV viewers, pointing the finger at other traditional mediums.
“What we’re doing is we’re actually following where our audiences are going,” he said.
“So there’s still a big linear number overnight, but the catch-up number that we’re getting is growing. It’s growing across different genres and the catch-up for an episode of Love Island [on Nine], or an episode of Bachelor in Paradise [on Ten] for one episode is actually bigger than the most successful radio shows. So it’s actually becoming a medium in its own right.”
Earlier this week OzTAM and measurement company Nielsen announced plans to create a new database to combine audience estimates of TV-set viewing with streaming through connected devices.
Mr Worner is correct with one thing – the figures are misleading!
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If you are an advertiser needing to evaluate TV response, overnight ratings are crucial. If I have a spot go out in a TV program, I wanna know what audience that spot got. I don’t care what catch up TV does, especially if I have to invest more of my budget to access that catch up audience. I sure as hell don’t wanna wait 28 days. Imagine trying to get makegoods out of the networks after that amount of time had passed.
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No media buyer worth their weight in salt would agree with that
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What they need is MORE measurement , not less. I get they need catch up TV audiences in the mix, but NOt to the detriment of overnight ratings. They need rolling ratings, updated daily, to reflect catch up audiences so you can see daily the change of total audiences over time .
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The messages put out by ThinkTV and the industry are ridiculously confusing.
– TV is the only place to get mass, immediate reach –> We need to move away from overnight ratings, as viewing is really happening over 28 days
– “Digital” measurement can’t be trusted as it doesn’t follow the “gold standard” way we measure TV –> We need to move to addressable TV. Ads will be more expensive, but we will provide the data that proves higher ROI for advertisers.
– “Digital” marks their own homework, it can’t be trusted. TV provides independent, verified, “gold standard” measurement via OzTAM –> OzTam (and sole shareholders 7/9/10) announce “Total TV” measurement across TV & BVOD, though only VOD services defined as “broadcast” by OzTAM/7/9/10.
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I do agree that overnight ratings being broadcast all over the trade press incessantly is and always has been largely a waste of time as its only in the last few years that it has it been reported on more than Total People. It’s always been mostly about chest beating between the networks. The days of large numbers for a show are long gone and so it always seems like a whole lot of nothing.
Consolidated 7 days kind of makes sense to trade on. At least you’re accounting for viewing before the next week rolls around, which is crucial when you’re monitoring your delivery to reach. It also makes sense because if someone hasn’t watched it before next week’s episode rolls around (let’s not even mention all the reality shows that air 5-6 a week), they’re probably not that engaged in the show or are trying the binge watch. Binge watching is fine, but if you’re actively binging, you’re skipping the ads.
For ad purposes, 28 days for linear TV is a croc of you-know-what. Might make a little more sense when OzTAM’s new VOZ (total TV measurement) launches but we’ll have to wait and see.
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Why are these women considered privileged? Do any of you know where they’ve come from, what their individual journeys have been? I applaud these women for their success as business people. Surely the outtake from this discussion is we all work in an industry where gender equality IS possible and with the right commitment and work ethic we can all be judged on merit for career progression? Or is it against our sisterhood to share any positivity around the strides that have been made and what we can now do to evolve the conversation and movement.
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This problem is purely the fault of the commercial broadcasters and their PR departments.
The early morning race to get the numbers out to the press so that they can report them along with the PR department spin is pure fluff.
I’ve not seen anyone else pumping the data out.
Simply agree to change your practices and obsession about being #1 at least in some demo, market or daypart and getting the release out first. My-dick-is-bigger-than-your-dick press releases MAY have worked in the ’70s and ’80s but don’t now.
So why not agree on a standard weekly report on All People that id based on the just completed Plus 7 data.
Subscribers (e.g. broadcasters, media agencies, industry insiders) should still be able to see the overnights in order to ‘top up’ buys if a show that they advertised in tanked.
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How many are worth their weight
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So True. As a tv viewer not in the industry i couldn’t care less if you have the “no 1 news service” or anything. it will not change my viewing habits
we have a rush to get overnights out and they don’t mean much anyway with overruns and dodgy coding (the same show having multiple entries for example)
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I was unfortunately unable to make the Female Power Players session. So I am unable to give first hand insight. Or an opinion. I prefer to leave my opinions to when I have first hand knowledge and choose not to throw weighted opinions around on social media. I can however add insight into what it is like to work for Lou. For over 15 years I’ve followed her. I’ve followed her because I work as much for Lou as I do the the company she speaks for. That’s the sort of loyalty she breeds from her staff. I’d follow her anywhere, anytime. She has allowed flexibility, opportunities, support, leadership and encouragement to women in every company and in every role she has undertaken. I know, I’ve been there and have seen it first hand. When I returned from maternity leave with my first baby and wanted to continue breast feeding she allowed adjusted hours for me to do so. When I sat for 3 days in hospital when my second child had an infection she called and texted me every few hours. When she was away last year for work and I was sick myself she called to make sure I was ok and insisted work would and could wait. And I’ve seen her offer this level of support and care to 100s of MEN and WOMEN over the years (except the breast feeding of course!) and so it makes me sad to see her vilified for a comment that does not and will not define her. Please, to those making comments that don’t know her, haven’t met her, haven’t seen her in action in the workplace; I can promise you she has done more for women than you can imagine. Because she cares. She cares deeply for women of all ages and all walks of life. Wishing each of you much fabulousness as you continue to do amazing things personally and professionally.
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