In case you weren’t aware, today is World TV Day (it is, in fact, a thing). In honour of celebrating all things TV-land, B&T asked ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate her thoughts on the current state of TV in Australia, including VOZ, the streaming wars, the struggle of the networks, the threat of the tech giants, and more.
But first … what’s World TV Day?
Each year, ThinkTV joins forces with ACT (Association of Commercial Television), egta (Association of TV and radio sales houses), EBU (European Broadcaster Union) and other partners to draw global attention to the strength of TV.
Established in 1996 by the United Nations General Assembly, World TV Day recognises the increasing impact television has on decision-making by alerting world attention to conflicts and threats to peace and security and its potential role in sharpening the focus on other major issues, including economic and social issues.
This year, the theme is diversity which encompasses two strands: diversity of content (always premium; always brand-safe, TV delivers content that triggers the curiosity, interest and loyalty of viewers) and diversity as a societal topic (increasingly featured in TV programs as well as advertising campaigns).
There’s still a demand for local, live content
Australian homes have an average of 6.6 screens in their homes to watch TV content, with the average Aussie consuming 68 hours and 14 minutes of broadcast TV per month.
And, TV reaches almost 19 million Australians every week, while BVOD is the fastest growing media channel in the country.
In fact, Australians are consuming an average of almost 13 million hours of BVOD per week. Programs that have generated a considerable audience on BVOD include Nine’s Married at First Sight, 10’s The Bachelor, Seven’s My Kitchen Rules and Foxtel’s Lambs of God.
However, as the streaming services continue to proliferate, there is the argument that viewers will switch off from FTA services and instead opt for content on-demand. There’s also the swirling question of how all the subscription-based services can survive.
Portrate suggests, however, there is room for everyone.
“I think in any kind of video or broadcast content, it comes down to the content. There are seven or so really great services with really unique and refined content and if people want that content, they’ll survive.”
On how local and live TV can compete with SVOD services, Portrate says there will always be a role for television in Australia as the population want to hear local stories.
“You look at what the local broadcasters are very good at, and I’d say that would definitely be live TV, sport and news. Around 86 per cent of TV content is actually viewed live, so I don’t think there’s ever going to be an issue with the role for television because people and Australians want to hear local stories.
“That’s not to suggest they don’t love international content because they do, and it’s great there’s an opportunity for people to consume the content they want, but from a local point of view, there’s always a requirement for local stories because people want to see themselves on the screen, no matter what screen it is.”
When suggested that apart from news and sport, the content the networks are producing are quite ‘same same’, Portrate said she disagrees.
“If you think about last year, look at things like The Masked Singer, Married at First Sight, The Bachelorette and so on, if you actually look beyond, sport, the Olympics and news, a lot of locally produced content is getting big audiences, and not just at the time it airs but also seven, 14 or a 28 days later. I actually think that the content is fairly diverse.”
VOZ in 2020
It was recently announced that Virtual Australia, or ‘VOZ’ – a new foundation for TV reporting – would be available from next year. VOZ brings together broadcast+ viewing on TV sets and connected devices to provide all-screen, cross-platform planning and reporting for Australia’s television industry.
According to Portrate, the introduction of VOZ will offer a few key benefits to marketers and advertisers.
“VOZ will give marketers a view of exactly who is watching their ad irrespective of the screen they watch it on. It’ll also measure for an advertiser when their ad is being viewed, irrespective the time it’s broadcast. It’ll give advertisers a complete picture.
“It’ll also bring together both regional and metro numbers, so for the first time it will be a truly national read on who saw your ad. What that means is you’ll be able to de-duplicate, reach and frequency so you understand how many people saw and it, how often, and where they were.
“The other thing it will do is it will enable better targeting because it will have a set of audience segments, so 14 segments will be baked into the analysis as well.”
Porarate says the introduction of VOZ will be “revolutionary” in that advertisers will get an in-depth sense of who’s watching what programmes and their ads, and from a marketer’s points of view, information about what that person might intend to buy.
On whether viewers should be concerned for their privacy, Portrate says all user data that contributes to VOZ is full anonymised.
It’s not just TV struggling, it’s the market
Seven and Nine recently released their yearly financials, both flagging a drop in earnings.
Nine revealed that its first-half earnings will be down by 10 per cent. The network blamed the results on slow market condition and the Alan Jones advertiser boycott, as well as a “shift in earnings contribution” attributed to the Fairfax merger.
Seven forecasted an earnings drop for the rest of the 2020 financial year, with CEO James Warburton announcing the network is expecting to hit the lower end of its full year underlying EBIT of between $190 million and $200 million.
On whether the networks need to be worried, Portate said it’s not an issue solely affecting TV but the broader market.
“The market generally not just TV is really struggling with 14 consecutive months of decline. The market and the media agencies, and really the whole community needs to be aware that.”
Battling the tech giants
The battle of the networks and tech giants is ongoing. In July this year, the ACCC handed down a scathing report on Facebook and Google, setting out 23 recommendations to respond to the “substantial market power” that digital platforms hold in Australia.
The government said Facebook and Google need to be “held to account” for their market dominance.
While Portrate wouldn’t specifically comment on the ACCC report, she did say there’s a definite imbalance that needs rectifying.
“When you look at Facebook, YouTube, and Google, they are attracting a lion’s share of advertising dollars generally and digital advertising dollars.
“It makes it very difficult for local premium content producers like Fairfax or Nine, Seven or 10. There’s less money to go around and so I do think there’s some imbalance at the moment.”
