10 CEO Paul Anderson addresses “Overstated overnight metrics”

Network 10 CEO Paul Anderson has give a speech today in which he advocates for the health of the TV industry, but saying “overstated” overnight ratings do not indicate the full picture for Free to Air broadcasters.

Speaking at the Future of TV Advertising Forum in Sydney, Anderson said, “What we sometimes forget is that when all three FTAs have large franchise programming, the total audience watching TV lifts significantly and everyone benefits with more eyeballs in the ecosystem.

“While fierce competitors, the competition for eye balls is not just with each other.

“The decline in linear TV viewing also continues to be overstated using outdated overnight audience metrics.

“It’s like measuring the retail industry by counting the footfall in stores. Consumers will shop the way want to, when they want to.”

His comments come at a time when 10’s share is trailing the ABC at the start of the ratings year, with new programming struggling to cut through. But he also indicated 10 was happy with I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here “despite what some media may say.”

“Yes, there is some drop in casual viewing – people do not watch a second repeat of NCIS like they use to – but prime viewing, big noisy event television is going strong.

“Fragmentation of our audience’s viewing habits is sometimes framed as a bad thing. On the contrary, this is making TV stronger by propelling our content across more screens and channels.

“This fragmentation allows us, if we are clever, to grow and evolve our presence beyond a linear broadcast, turning the viewer experience into a virtual water cooler as the conversation and interaction with formats continues well beyond a timeslot.”

OzTAM has today announced it is adding Age / Gender demos to its VPM data. OzTAM is owned by Seven, Nine & 10.

Read the full article on TV Tonight.