The push by Seven and Nine to try and increase the number of advertising minutes on their main channels during prime time has led to speculation the move is a diversion for a more concerted push on reach and ownership relaxation – but there is also debate on how far audiences can be pushed if the move went ahead.
While older rusted on viewers might largely accept an increase in advertising during prime time periods, the move could alienate younger audiences right at the point where the networks are trying to culture a TV habit in the streaming generation.
Media buyers and analysts said the push was more likely an attempt to soften up the market for an alternative revenue concept as the media industry readies itself for an eventual shake-up under Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
At the same time, experts have said there is no known research on just how much advertising free TV audiences are willing to endure before they shift to other platforms and the networks could be playing with fire.
If the bid to have the advertising limitations stretched was successful it would result in Australians being exposed to some of the highest levels of TV advertising in the world.
Peter Cornelius, principal at Kenesis Media and former managing director of Nielsen in Australia, said audience tolerance to ads had never been investigated.
He said that the challenge for networks trying to gauge audience tolerance for ads was that it would change based on the sort of shows being watched.
“Obviously with programming that encourages more engagement you are going to be more pissed off with lots of ads, whereas those programs that are a little bit less that way you don't mind so much, but I don't know how you would measure it to be honest because it's not a black and white calculation.”
Cornelius also warned that the networks could be faced with a generational backlash.
“Older generations have obviously been brought up in the commercial world and commercial television, for example, where it's an advertiser-based model.”
However, he said with the shifting development of media platforms, it seemed reasonable that the TV networks were seeking a way to creatively look at how they presented ads.
“I think everything is probably in play at the moment,” Cornelius said.
“If it was to happen that tends to suggest we would have the highest advertising content in the world.
“The challenge for the regulatory authorities and the government is what's legitimate and what's not .
“But offsetting all of that is if it does piss off viewers then you are shooting yourself in the foot.”
James Greet, CEO of Ikon Communications said that the tipping point of audiences tolerating ads on free-to-air was close.
"The community is going to get to a massive tipping point very quickly and we are nearly there," Greet said.
However social researcher Mark McCrindle said that if the three networks could come to an agreement on how much extra advertising they wanted, there was unlikely to be any real push back by consumers.
“If this was still the world where TV was the campfire, where the family gathered around and the population gathered around, if that was still the case, then there would be more of a push-back,” McCrindle said.
“But the reality is the early adopters and even the mid and late adopters, have already moved to time-shifting, to Pay-TV, to other platforms. That is part of the reason these claims might get more of an allowance because people who have a hang-up on ads, they would have found solutions by now.”
Network Ten has raised concerns that the push by Seven and Nine could flood the market with extra inventory, eroding the value of advertising slots to the broadcasters.
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