Time Shift Viewing measurement and reporting was introduced into the OzTAM ratings service from Week 1, 2010 (27th December 2009)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

OzTAM adopts international best practice in television audience measurement (TAM) research and adheres to the Global Guidelines Television Audience Measurement, GGTAM

  • From 2001 to 2009, OzTAM provided a live in home television viewing ratings service
  • Commencing Week 1, 2010 (w/c 27th December 2009) OzTAM's service was enhanced to include measurement and reporting of Live, As Live and Time Shift viewing
  • The growth in household use of PVRs has been the key driver for this service enhancement (PVRs allow for ‘shifting’ the time of viewing using the pause functionality)
  • OzTAM has worked in partnership with its research provider, Nielsen Television Audience Measurement, to deliver these service enhancements


How long has Time Shift Viewing (TSV) of television been measured and reported?

Commencing Week 1, 2010 (w/c 27th December 2009), the OzTAM ratings service has measured and reported As Live and Time Shift Viewing (in addition to Live viewing)

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What is Time Shift Viewing of television?

The viewing of television broadcast programming at a later time than the live (actual) broadcast time

  • the viewing of a recorded program at a later time
  • the pausing of a program as it is broadcast live and then continuing to watch it in playback mode

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What devices can capture TSV of television broadcast programming?

Any device connected to a television set that allows the consumer to record and playback television broadcasts, such as:

  • VCR recording on to a tape and playing back
  • DVD-R recording on to a disc and playing back
  • PVR recording on to a hard drive and playing back

Branded examples of PVRs include Foxtel IQ, Austar My Star and TiVo. As Live and Time Shift viewing can occur in both PVR and non-PVR homes due to the presence of recording and playback devices such as VCRs and DVD-Rs

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What do the definitions ‘Live’, ‘As Live’, ‘Time Shift’ and ‘Playback’ mean?

  • Live – viewing of television broadcast content at the actual time of broadcast - (live broadcast) OzTAM’s service from 2001 – 2009
  • As Live – viewing of recorded television broadcast content that occurs within the same research day as broadcast, but at a different time to the original, live broadcast time (a research day is 2am to 2am)
  • Time Shift – viewing of recorded television broadcast content up to seven days after the live broadcast time
  • Playback – As Live + Time Shift viewing

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What is measured?

  • OzTAM Metropolitan Service: Live, As Live and Time Shift Viewing to all reported channels in all homes including STV homes, in the five metro markets
  • OzTAM National STV Service: Live, As Live and Time Shift Viewing to all reported channels in STV homes nationally
  • Only standard speed (normal) playback is included in total viewing figures (e.g. no ‘trick mode’, fast forward)
  • Only viewing of playback content is measured and not the recording of that content

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How is TSV measured?

  • Nielsen Television Audience Measurement has deployed a ‘state of the art’ metering solution called UNITAM
  • UNITAM uses sophisticated content matching technologies to measure all viewing to all reported channels on all TV sets in panel homes
  • Content matching means matching the same programs, same station promotions and same advertisements

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Is it possible to measure the percentage of commercials being ‘skipped’ during playback?

OzTAM measures and reports only standard speed (normal) playback in total viewing figures (e.g. no ‘trick mode’, fast forward). OzTAM has always measured and reported minute by minute viewing

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If a program is being recorded while another is watched, which one is being measured?

OzTAM measures and reports the actual viewing of recorded television content, not what is being recorded or what has been recorded

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Does the enhanced ratings service provide the number of people and their demographic characteristics who playback recorded television broadcast content?

Yes

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How can subscribers to OzTAM data analyse Time Shift Viewing?

The enhanced service allows for analysis by all reported channels using the current demographics plus the variables of PVR and Non-PVR households; Viewing Session Type (Live, As Live, and Time Shift); and Time from Broadcast

OzTAM has worked with 15 independent Third Party Software Suppliers (TPSS) to ensure consistent calculations of the TSV data

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What are ‘Overnight’ and ‘Consolidated’ ratings?

  • Overnight = Live + As Live Viewing
  • Consolidated = Live + As Live + Time Shift Viewing

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When is data delivered?

Two datasets are delivered each day:

  • MORNING: Overnights for previous day (Live + As Live)
  • AFTERNOON: Consolidated for same day last week (which includes Time Shift up to the last seven days)

Note: Refer to Data Availability Calendar for more information

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How is data delivered?

  • Elemental data files:
    • Overnight data containing Live and As Live viewing sessions from the previous research day are released each morning
    • Consolidated data containing Live, As Live and Time Shift viewing sessions within seven days of the original broadcast are released in the afternoon. For example, each Tuesday afternoon, Consolidated data for the previous week’s Monday research day is available
  • Quarter Hour data files (Trading Databases):
    • Overnight data containing the sum of Live and As Live ¼ hour audiences from the previous research day are released each morning
    • Consolidated data containing the sum of Live, As Live and Time Shift viewing ¼ hour audiences within seven days of the original broadcast are released later in the day

Note: From the start of TSV in 2010 the ¼ hour file changed to a daily 2am to 2am format

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What should I consider when interpreting ratings reports?

Figures for each day/program may be based on Overnight or Consolidated data

  • Clearly identify what Viewing Session Type is included when reporting
  • Check reports for correct sourcing of the viewing data included

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When/How am I able to analyse viewing to broadcasts on a particular day: e.g. Sunday, 27th December 2009?

On the morning of Monday, 28th December, Live + As Live viewing of broadcasts on Sunday 27th December, is available (within the Overnight Viewing data)

Seven days later, on the afternoon of Monday, 4th January, viewing to broadcasts on Sunday 27th December, that were viewed in Time Shift during the period 28th December - 3rd January, is available (within the Consolidated Viewing data)

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For more information contact OzTAM on 02 9929 7210 | or info@oztam.com.au

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