PAY television is continuing to prove its strong appeal to top income earners, with almost 30% of all ABs subscribing to the medium, several points above its 26.1% reach into the general Australian population.
These ABs constitute 11.6% of all pay TV viewing; a figure that increases almost to 30% for some channels.
“ABs are a hard group to target, they dip in and out of media, looking at whatever suits them,” says Multi Channel Network research and strategy account manager Camilla Israel.
“This is especially true for news channels, so we recommend a package of news channels as the best way for advertisers to reach ABs.”
MCN also recommends top-level feature sports events, particularly for golf and rugby, and the premier documentary channels—Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel—as effective pay TV strategies to reach ABs.
Unsurprisingly, pay TV’s highest rating channels are also the highest-rating channels for ABs, with viewing figures revealing Showtime attracts 345,773 AB viewers, TV1 attracts 337,035, Fox 8 attracts 305,315, Fox Sport One 294, 577, National Geographic Channel 283,321 AB viewers and Fox Sports Two attracts 275,670.
Israel says the high AB reach of these channels is down to their extensive general reach, which will suit some advertisers. But those looking for less wastage in targeting ABs should target news channels, thereby creating a bigger splash with ABs.
CNN exemplifies this point, with 27.8% of all weekend viewers belonging to the AB demographic, followed by Optus Sports Two with 21.4% AB viewers, Sky News with 19.3%, Fox Classics with 18.9% and BBC World with 17.9% AB viewers.
“I think marketers do understand we offer unique opportunities across our channels, particularly news, to reach ABs. We offer advertising opportunities the free-to-air channels do not,” Israel says. n
