VPM Report guidelines
OzTAM’s Video Player Measurement service captures minute-by-minute data (both live-streamed and on-demand) on participating broadcasters’ TV content played on connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, connected TVs, gaming consoles and desktops/laptops. In 2019 demographic profiles were introduced to the VPM reporting service, and in 2020 the service was further enhanced to include co-viewing on connected TVs.
Here you’ll find a quick guide to the VPM reports that are posted on OzTAM’s website: http://www.oztam.com.au/reportvpm.aspx.
What the VPM reports on OzTAM’s website include
- Rolling reports
Each day OzTAM publishes rolling reports covering BVOD VOD activity over the previous 7 and 28 days.
Daily rolling BVOD VOD reports feature:
- Top 10 programs (by episode) for rolling seven days and Top 20 programs (by episode) for rolling 28 days - all participating broadcasters combined (i.e., ‘market’)
- Top 5 programs (by episode) for rolling seven days and Top 10 programs (by episode) for rolling 28 days - each participating broadcaster individually (i.e., by network)
Note: Reported program episode minutes include content minutes only.
- ‘Total BVOD VOD minutes’ played across key demographics from all participating broadcasters (census level), including program and advertising content, over the previous seven days or 28 days – with the time period noted at the top of the report, e.g.:
Note: Reported ‘total BVOD VOD minutes’ includes minutes of content and served advertisements viewed.
- Live reports
Each Tuesday OzTAM publishes a weekly live report capturing the top BVOD live programs each week (during the preceding Sunday to Saturday).
Weekly BVOD live reports feature:
- Top 10 programs – all participating broadcasters combined (i.e., ‘market’)
- Top 5 programs – each participating broadcaster individually (i.e., by network)
Note: Reported program episode minutes include content minutes only.
- ‘Total BVOD live minutes’ viewed across key demographics and ‘Total BVOD reach’ from all participating broadcasters (census level) over the previous seven days – with the week noted at the top of the report, e.g.:
Note: Reported ‘total BVOD live minutes’ includes minutes of content and served advertisements viewed.
In addition to the above reports, broadcasters receive data on their own VPM content, which they can use for their respective reporting purposes.
Interpreting rolling BVOD VOD VPM reports
The date on which a BVOD VOD episode was posted (that is, when it was first made available to play) should be taken into account when interpreting that program’s BVOD audience on a rolling report. For example, an episode posted two weeks previously will have had more opportunity to be viewed than a program posted two days ago. Programs may have been made available to play for only a few days within the rolling report coverage period, or may have been posted before the coverage period began.
What is a ‘BVOD audience’?
The BVOD audience is a people-based estimate, which is in line with the average audience metric used in TAM (television) ratings and calculated accordingly.
In detail: the BVOD audience is an average minute audience estimate calculated by accumulating all BVOD minutes played by people viewing across all connected devices (including co-viewing on connected TVs), divided by the content length. BVOD audiences are reported to the nearest thousand.
How should the term ‘BVOD audience’ be used in reporting a program’s performance?
Taking the example below from a 7-day VPM report, you could say:
- ‘Over seven days Program X accumulated an average minute audience of 20,000 people’
All Networks – Top 10 Programs – Date: 26/12/2020 – 01/01/2020 – Number of Days: 7
| Network |
Series |
Episode |
BVOD Audience |
Length |
Minutes |
BVOD Reach |
Posted Date |
| Network+Affiliates |
PROGRAM A |
EPISODE 1 |
20,000 |
30 |
600,000 |
40,000 |
1/01/2020 |
The BVOD audience of 20,000 means that for any minute of the VOD content, an average of 20,000 people were viewing on connected devices that had played that minute of content. 600,000 minutes of the program’s content was played, and the program length was 30 minutes (600,000 ÷ 30 = 20,000).
How do BVOD audience and BVOD reach compare?
BVOD reach represents the unique count of people who have watched at least 15 seconds of the program; this count provides a television reach–like number. BVOD audiences are the average number of people viewing on connected devices that are playing the content in any one minute across the program’s duration.
Is co-viewing included in total minutes reported on the VPM website reports?
The minutes viewed by up to three co-viewers watching BVOD on connected TVs are added to the VPM data for that program or viewing session.
Can a program’s BVOD audience be added to its TV average audience to get an overall figure?
OzTAM recognises that some data users wish to see how BVOD audience data relates back to the total audience for a piece of content across all platforms.
Given the different methodologies and coverage areas for TAM and VPM, users wishing to combine the data should follow these protocols:
- BVOD audience data may be added to the linear TV audience for an individual program episode (or series average) using either:
- an OzTAM Total People average audience figure or specific demographic audience figure, or
- a combined OzTAM and Regional TAM Total People or specific demographic average audience figure.
- Combination can be made at the individual episode level, or BVOD data over the course of a series can be averaged such that a BVOD audience average can be reported alongside the broadcast average – in which case the time periods must be identical and made clear.
- Linear TV audience data can be combined with either BVOD live or BVOD VOD data, or both.
- Reach or frequency estimates may not be combined with VPM data at this stage. However, OzTAM now estimates co-viewing for BVOD, and de-duplicated reach will be available with the launch of the new all-screen Total TV database, VOZ.
- TV data must be clearly sourced ‘OzTAM five-city metro’ OR ‘OzTAM and Regional TAM combined’ and the OzTAM VPM data similarly appropriately sourced.
- The coverage period of each source must be clearly stated.
Adherence to these protocols will ensure what’s being reported is clear, consistent and accountable.
Can the BVOD audience for a live program be added to the corresponding audience on TV?
Yes, if the TV and online broadcast are identical, following the guidelines above. And because BVOD live programs mirror the television reporting structure, and are coded the same way networks code the corresponding television broadcast, comparisons are relatively straightforward compared to BVOD VOD viewing.
Minimum program length
A program must be at least 10 minutes in duration to be included in the top BVOD program rankings in OzTAM’s VPM website reports. However, every minute of BVOD VOD play counts towards overall video play activity (‘total minutes’) in the VPM reports.
Sourcing VPM data and labelling
When reporting BVOD VPM audience figures please state the coverage period and indicate whether you are referencing:
- a date range – e.g. 7-day BVOD VOD or 28-day BVOD VOD
- media type – e.g. BVOD VOD or BVOD live VPM figures
To help distinguish between them, OzTAM’s website VPM reports are branded with the ‘7’, ‘28’ and ‘L’ VPM symbols:
Daily reporting cycle
- 2am – 2am local market time, for BVOD VOD and BVOD live
Participating networks
Currently: ABC, Seven Network, Nine Network, Network 10, SBS and Foxtel
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