TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Shock fuel price increase announced

      4 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Wiocc’s data centre business, OADC, appoints CEO

      4 July 2022

      Google’s Equiano cable lands in Namibia

      3 July 2022

      More stage-6 load shedding on the cards for this week

      3 July 2022
    • World

      Tether fails to calm jittery nerves

      4 July 2022

      EU to impose wide-ranging new rules on the crypto industry

      3 July 2022

      Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows files for bankruptcy

      3 July 2022

      Meta girds for ‘fierce’ headwinds

      1 July 2022

      Graphics card prices plummet as crypto demand dries up

      30 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Uproar over TV ratings

    Uproar over TV ratings

    News By Craig Wilson27 June 2013
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    TV-remote-640

    Free-to-air broadcasters the SABC and e.tv are up in arms after an audit found the viewership figures provided by the South African Audience Research Foundation (Saarf) in recent years were allegedly inaccurate.

    The broadcasters claim this has cost them hundreds of millions of rand in lost advertising revenue.

    The SABC and e.tv are backing the planned resignation from Saarf by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), of which both broadcasters are members, as a result of the alleged inaccuracies in reported ratings and because Saarf, they say, does not want to allow greater representation of broadcast media on its board.

    According to the two companies, a recent audit of Saarf’s television audience measurement survey (Tams), which provides daily audience ratings for viewership of all broadcasters and on which advertisers base their decisions when it comes to buying advertising, found that the figures it was reporting were inaccurate, and had been for some time.

    Saarf conducts media research to determine the levels of media consumption by South Africans. Nielsen Media Research is contracted by Saarf to operate the Tams panel.

    Tams consists of a sample panel of TV-watching households that provide daily information on their viewing habits. This information is used to extrapolate the viewing habits of the South African population as a whole.

    In a joint statement, the SABC and e.tv say broadcasters called for the audit of the Tams panel after they noticed “serious shortcomings” in the ratings last year.

    Both broadcasters say they experienced an “inexplicable fall in ratings” in low- to middle-income households, traditionally the largest consumers of free-to-air TV.

    The audit, conducted by French media research and audit firm Centre d’Etudes des Supports de Publicité, found that the Tams panel had “failed to keep up with the evolving South African demographic profile” and had only partially measured certain homes.

    It also found that the panel had failed to maintain the household meters used to gather the Tams information and hadn’t balanced various income groups’ weightings appropriately.

    Consequently, upper income — often white — households were “over-represented” on the Tams panel, while mid- to low-income households — often black — were “significantly under-represented”.

    The broadcasters say this has had a big financial impact on them, with early estimates suggesting the losses could run into hundreds of millions of rand.

    “Despite the efforts to engage with Saarf on these issues, it has become apparent to the SABC and e.tv that the concerns of free-to-air television broadcasters are not being taken seriously and have not received the urgent attention from Saarf that they demand.”

    Because Saarf’s constitution requires a year’s notice, NAB’s resignation will only come into effect at the end of 2014. Until then, the broadcasters say they will “act in good faith to ensure the continuity of television research under Saarf while alternatives are being established”.

    The broadcasters also want to establish an industry research body “that is sensitive to the fast-changing demographics of South Africa and that treats all South African audiences with equal importance”.

    Saarf issued its own statement on Thursday, saying it and its members are “extremely disappointed” by the developments and questioning the accuracy of the statements made by SABC and e.tv both around the organisation’s board and the audit findings.

    “Saarf wants to state unequivocally that it was not its board that refused the NAB proposal for greater representation of broadcast media”. The organisation says it asked NAB for additional time to consider its request for greater broadcaster representation but the body refused and insisted the matter be put to a vote knowing that it would not pass.

    Furthermore, Saarf says it plans to “respond in full to the allegations and inaccurate interpretation of the audit findings” and that claims made by the SABC and e.tv contain “serious inaccuracies”.  — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media

    e.tv NAB National Association of Broadcasters Nielsen Nielsen Media Research Saarf SABC
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleMTN soars on Myanmar loss
    Next Article Gold at the end of the Brainbow

    Related Posts

    Shock fuel price increase announced

    4 July 2022

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Wiocc’s data centre business, OADC, appoints CEO

    4 July 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Presenting the cloud finance in South Africa survey with AWCape and Sage

    4 July 2022

    The Equiano cable has landed

    4 July 2022

    Billetterie simplifies interactions between law firms and clients

    30 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.