by Inge Hansen (@mecnotabene) The date for the second TAMS universe update this year has been set by the Broadcast Research Council of SA (BRCSA) as 31 August 2015, when the TAMS Universe will be updated in line with the AMPS 2014B Universe. This will be the second TAMS update under the auspices of the BRCSA, at a reported panel weighting efficiency of 78.2%, which remains above global standards.
Rural population growth
With the update will come a substantial increase in the Individual Universe as this grows by 1.3m individuals (+3.1%) and 288 398 households (+2.2%). Much of this increase is coming from growth within the rural population, which is highlighted by a +6.49% growth in the Eastern Cape. Corresponding with this, there is also growth within LSM 1–4 (+4.35%). This growth shows potential for improved viewership numbers on free-to-air channels but, as with previous updates, due to our developing population and TV fragmentation, this may not lead to an increase in overall rating points.
When the age breakdown in the new data is examined, there are challenging shifts for some advertisers as the bulk of the growth is coming from ages 4–6 (+9.7%) and 11–14 (+8.3%). The Statistics SA mid-year population estimate, released in July, does not feature the same age splits but shows high numbers within this young population bracket. What with draft advertising legislation in play for various industries which need to be rigid in marketing to particular age groups, reaching targeted ratings (amid additional roadblocks such as loadshedding) becomes more of a challenge for some.
In the TAMS update, Star Sat sees further declines as those with access to the platform drops by -20.42% to just over 300 000 individuals. This update will be effective post the announcement from the satellite provider that it has added three new channels from mid-June: sports channel StarTimes Sports Premium, AMC Series and Iroko Play. Various package specials are being punted via its website to entice viewers, amid positive number claims from e.tv’s OpenView HD (OVHD) as consumers warm to the idea of not paying a monthly fee to access TV content.
Top-end growth
Interestingly, there is also growth coming from the top end of the scale, with LSM 9 increasing by +7.14% and LSM 10 by +8.23%. Accordingly, there is an increase in PVR access at a rate of +10% from the previous survey, with a boost to DStv subscriber numbers of +7.1%. These pay-TV stats have been aligned with the September DStv subscriber figures.
This gives some context to the Naspers Interim Report released recently (for the six months to September 2014) which stated that a milestone was reached as over R1bn has been invested in local content over the past year. With pay-TV being a lucrative segment for the business, Naspers has also invested in its DTT network to ensure that it is well-placed for any growth opportunities when the changeover does occur.
In addition, to assist advertisers in engaging with those elusive top-end consumers, DStv has recently launched two new products aligned to its Box Office and Catch Up services.
These innovations for marketers were announced just ahead of the big reveal for consumers this month, when Naspers broke the news of ShowMax in SA. This is a large step into the over-the-top (OTT) content space by MultiChoice, which providers such as Netflix and Hulu dominate on a global scale, with cost and download speeds being a big factor for this platform. Featuring a monthly subscription rate of R99 for unlimited access to premium content, it will be interesting to see how ShowMax performs ahead of any competitor launches locally.
Continued innovation in this space is important in order to maintain consumer loyalty, which is also closely aligned to costs. This is indicative by the recent announcement by Altron in that the Altech Node was not a launch success, with large set-up costs in addition to the monthly fee.
New weighting measures
As the BRCSA assumed responsibility for the TAMS data in January 2015, it will not be possible for Media Inflation Watch to provide the industry with performance measurement this year, due to new weighting measures. This brings the television Rate Index into the spotlight, with the Q1 2015 increase released by MIW at 11.13% for free-to-air and pay-TV sitting at 27.18%, well above the annual increases reported for 2014.
This is the case in the US, where conventional TV viewing has seen dramatic declines as audiences shift their attention to the digital space and OTT options. As a result, ad buyers are now putting pressure on networks to reduce TV pricing in accordance with a decline in quality audiences. This is a difficult tug of war with targets to achieve on both sides of the fence, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out on an international level as our market evolves locally.
Updated at 9.28am on 25 August 2015.
Following two years at Media24 scrubbing for insights within the magazine division, Inge Hansen joined Nota Bene as an A&I analyst in March 2013. Working across multiple clients, including FMCG, alcohol and petroleum, she has the luxury of working with teams to develop robust insights that drive strategy while keeping abreast of media trends the world over. Inge loves having her pulse on the media landscape but far prefers raising her pulse mountain-biking on weekends. She contributes Thinking TV, a monthly analysis of South African TV viewership figures, to MarkLives. Follow @mecnotabene for regular media updates.
— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every Monday and Thursday. Sign up here!