The head honcho of media agency UM has hit out at the industry's “obsession with television ratings”, suggesting its high time we take a more holistic approach to gauging the success of TV shows.
Mat Baxter, chief executive at Mediabrands-owned UM, has argued the industry continues to view the success of television programs in silos and verticals, despite the constant talk of changing viewer habits.
“This obsession with television ratings is just an outmoded way to be assessing a show's performance. To not holistically look at a show's total audience is crazy.
“It's the same battle we are seeing the newspaper guys fighting. They are trying to get us all to look at total audience across all platforms, but we still judge the success of a brand by its performance in one vertical.”
Baxter pointed AdNews to a MagnaGlobal report which examines television numbers from a multi-platform perspective. “This can make you consider the success of a show in a different way,” Baxter said. “The industry is so focused on TV ratings, but then we are overlooking the fact the show might be performing well online, there might be really good online video numbers or a great deal of social buzz and conversation.”
The report shows, for example, that in one week in January of this year, Seven's Home and Away scored over 850,000 viewers on traditional television, while Seven's Better Homes and Gardens took in over one million. A traditional approach might suggest Better Homes and Gardens was leading the charge, but a quick glance at the online streams tells a different story. Home and Away saw over 400,000 online streams, while Better Homes and Gardens saw just 14,000. What's more, if catch-up TV is taken into account, Home and Away edged further ahead again.
“The focus should be on combined performance,” Baxter stressed. “There has been a significant change in the market. In the 18-39 year old demographic, online video views were up 25% [in 2012 compared to 2011], while traditional television viewing across all people has remained steady.
“There has been massive growth in the online viewing space, particularly with shows which have a great narrative, where people can go online to catch up on any episodes they have missed. Obviously the programs have to be strong, but it is clear that with greater access to content, there has been an increase in consumption.”
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.