Sales Office by Val Napolitano

Digital Media: OTA TV's Friend, Not Foe

I still hear concerns from friends in the agency community that the dramatic evolution in recent years of mass-audience video consumption should be viewed as a negative rather than the positive it really is -- for television programmers and advertisers. And that "live-only" should remain the dominant local TV-ratings currency. Here's why the concept of live-only audience ratings should rest in peace. Put simply, today's multiple platforms have raised TV audience levels.
By
TVNewsCheck,

I'm a nighttime television viewer. I faithfully watched Lost and 24 this past season. I couldn't bear to lose touch with these story lines as they were drawing to a close. The shows didn't disappoint. But I didn't always watch them when they aired. I frequently watched later that night. Thanks to my DVR, both were able to count me as a viewer, when otherwise I would have been AWOL.

It's clear to me that my DVR has enabled me to watch more TV than I otherwise could. Like most DVR users, I try to catch my favorite shows, but on a schedule that meets my personal circumstances.

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Yet, just when we thought the controversy surrounding Nielsen's application of live-plus-same-day ratings had died an overdue death, it seems to be reaching out from the grave for one last attempt at haunting us.

I still hear concerns from friends in the agency community that the dramatic evolution in recent years of mass-audience video consumption should be viewed as a negative rather than the positive it really is -- for television programmers and advertisers. And that "live-only" should remain the dominant local TV-ratings currency. 

Here's why the concept of live-only audience ratings should rest in peace. Put simply, today's multiple platforms have raised TV audience levels.   

Let's look at some recent developments in how TV is offered and consumed.

Younger demos watching on iTunes

Dial back to the early, uncertain (in terms of its impact on traditional TV) days of iTunes -- January 2006, to be exact. NBC at the time credited iTunes for increased viewership of The Office, then the most popular show on iTunes, but hardly among the most popular shows on TV. In a one-week space, its 18-49 rating jumped to 5.1 from 4.5.

ABC also cited a ratings increase for Lost and Desperate Housewives -- also then newly available on iTunes -- versus the same period in 2005. Lost had seen its total audience rise 14%, with 18-49 ratings up 28%. The total audience for Housewives was up 7%.  

We all know how things worked out for these shows over the longer term. More than four years later, Lost capped a healthy six-year network run with 13.5 million average viewers, and a 5.8 rating/14 share among adults 18-49, for its finale. Housewives and The Office aren't doing so badly, either. For the 2009-10 broadcast season, they ranked 14th and 17th, respectively, in 18-49 ratings, with a 4.2 and 4.0.

A number of apps are now available for watching TV programs on iPhones. And before long, thanks to the technological strides made by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), we'll be able to watch crisply displayed, live, local and national TV content seamlessly on-the-go, on a broad array of personal devices.

Based on the experience with iTunes, I think TV programmers -- and advertisers -- have many reasons to be optimistic.

Video streaming on Web

Much as iTunes may have helped certain shows reach -- and form bonds with -- younger viewers, so may have online streaming outlets. For example, over the past year Lost was regularly among the most popular shows streamed over ABC.com. It's a safe bet that ABC.com enabled busy viewers to better keep abreast of this famously complex show, helping build the substantial audience reached for the on-air finale.

Similarly, SNL has consistently been among the most popular downloaded shows. The interest among younger demos engendered and sustained by this additional platform -- coupled with the famous Facebook campaign endorsing her selection as host -- doubtlessly helped support the average  5.1 rating/20 share in 18-49s for Betty White's recent turn in Studio 8H. It was the show's highest rating since the election-bolstered Nov. 1, 2008, telecast.

The DVR

But most immediately, the DVR -- especially the DVR -- has opened up a new way for people to watch and, for that matter, sample, shows.

According to Magna Global's Janice Finkel-Greene, on average there's a significant -- though not ad-budget-busting -- 6% bump in primetime ratings due to viewing of DVR-recorded shows.

Importantly, she noted that channel-changing during live viewing is a more common means of avoiding commercials than fast-forwarding via DVR.

Which brings me to my next point: A familiar refrain from opponents of live-plus-same-day ratings is that virtually all DVR viewers habitually fast-forward through commercials. You can often expect the people who make this claim to be the same ones who insist viewers habitually change the channel when a commercial comes on during live TV.

Yet recent findings from the Council for Research Excellence's video consumer mapping study indicated that the frequency of channel-changing and/or changing rooms is very similar in the few minutes before a commercial break, during the commercial break and in the few minutes after the commercial break. In short, 86% of viewers remain with live TV during commercials. So much for the conventional wisdom that everyone lunges for the remote when a spot appears.  

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Comments (5) -

Lindy Sieker posted a year ago
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The onlty argument I have is that a sale is over sometimes at midnight and we did not get a sale into the store. We have a lot of retail clients with a deadline to shop and viewing the commercial after the store is closed is a let down. I totally embrace the "whenever I feel like it" world. It is more of a challenge to the mom and pop who is trying to sell their goods.
Snap Nickname posted a year ago
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I can testify that having a DVR leads to more TV watching. (I've got an Echostar/Channel Master CM-7000PAL OTA DVR) I never have to miss an episode because I'm not home. Advertisers should be a fan of the 30 second skip feature because it allows consumers to skip the commercials they don't want to watch and watch the ones that peak their interest.
DallasDan Nickname posted a year ago
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Odd comment about "advertisers being a fan of skip". If you skip it, how do you know you want to watch it? I've been working in TV since I was 14 years old, yet when I'm on my DVR, I skip every spot and usually only catch the first second or last second of the commercial. Unless it's a funny spot or so clever, I certainly do not waste the time. As I've told our upper management and production staff, on locally produced shows, we need to get into product placement and the old fashioned "cut the spot as part of the show" mentality (like TV of the 50's). With syndicated and network shows, I can NOT understand why we don't throw away the entire :30/:60 model and sell the spot by the second. If someone wants a :12 spot, then let them have it. We'll complete cause the DVR "skip" function to become such a pain that at least some spots will get run. I think if we could got to short/odd length spots, we could hold the viewers longer with the idea that it might take longer to grab the DVR control than to just roll with the spot.
Snap Nickname posted a year ago
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With skip I actually see more of the commercial than I would if I was using that time for a bathroom break, or to check on the laundry (live TV). I may only see 2 seconds of the ad, but I see the ad, if I'm interested in the product I watch more. On the other hand, if I'm in the bathroom or backroom I don't see any of the ad at all. Also, since I'm watching more TV, I'm actually exposed to a greater number of ads. Jimmy Kimmel Live is very effective at intergrating ads into the show. (Could really use some Buffalo Wild Wings right now.) I don't remember what the introductory ad was for last night, but I remember I watched the whole thing, and it was a effective lead in for the show.
PhillyPhlash Nickname posted a year ago
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Here's another way "live" OTA could drive put broadcasters back in the live OTA TV driver's seat. I've just tested out the Auvio brand 3.5-inch screen battery-powered (four double A's) hand-held DTV at a local Radio Shack. Not much larger than an iPhone, tt's a potential game-changing product that delivers good reception and excellent pictures virtually anywhere there's a fairly strong DTV signa, at full ATSC resolution -- no compromised picture quality, as with the mobile TV standard. The user must remain fairly stationary to prevent picture break-up, but the unit seems to tolerate some slight motion. The tuner is super-sensitive and picks up strong DTV signals even with a somewhat flimsy built-in telescoping antenna. The sound is surprisingly good for a unit this small. And it's perfect for power outages, since it takes standard batteries. At $80 retail, it makes possible "TV anywhere" RIGHT NOW. Why isn't this "plain old television" the hottest consumer item around? Because nobody's giving it heavy promotion -- for obvious reasons. The electronics industry appears to be conspiring with those who seek to turn all TV into pay TV. But once consumers get word of these little hand-held marvels, broadcasters could once again dominate the away-from-home "live TV" market. When will NAB and TvB wake up and start promoting these tiny portable DTVs?

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