Incremental reach on YouTube, Facebook 'a furphy', say TV networks, OzTam; YouTube's skip button an ad attention decoy
"Attention disappears as soon as you can click that skip ad button," ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate says.
TV networks have rubbished claims from YouTube and Facebook that they reach incremental audiences that aren’t on TV, one of the key arguments mounted by the duopoly for advertisers to shift dollars onto their platforms. Broadcasters are also gearing up to prove viewer attention on broadcaster platforms is superior and are locking on YouTube's ad "skip button" as a problematic viewer decoy for ads.
What you need to know:
- Youtube and Facebook say they have audiences broadcasters across their linear, BVOD and Connected TV audiences are losing. Commercial broadcasters disagree.
- ThinkTV’s CEO Kim Portrate says it’s a “furphy” that YouTube and Facebook can reach audiences TV can’t – all of the same demographics are watching TV, via linear or BVOD on CTV and mobile.
- Likewise, the networks say attention is significantly higher on TV. A viewer’s attention to an ad disappears the moment the “skip ad” button appears, per Portrate.
The attention factor of the viewer [on digital platforms] is not as good as TV, and that particularly on YouTube... attention disappears as soon as you can click that skip ad button.
TVs still reach all demos: Networks
Australia’s television networks have rallied against claims by YouTube and Facebook to reach audiences that aren’t on TV, arguing that viewer figures show many younger people are watching TV – and are paying attention to programming for far longer.
YouTube told advertisers in its Brandcast presentation it had 89 per cent higher ROI than TV, 85 per cent higher ROI than BVOD, and 64 per cent greater incremental sales per impression than TV. It and Facebook have been sharing research and case studies in the past few years outlining the incremental reach above what would have been achieved on TV.
YouTube is eyeing $2 billion in revenue in Australia, a sizeable chunk of the $13 billion digital ad market.
Broadcaster-funded marketing group ThinkTV along with Nine, Seven, Ten and ratings service OzTam say while Youtube and Facebook platforms do reach large audiences, it’s a “furphy” that those same audiences and demographics can’t be reached on linear TV or broadcaster video on-demand (BVOD). Cross-platform measurement service VOZ is proving this, they say.
We see that the majority [of viewers] will watch almost 95 per cent of the content. So they're sitting through the ads, they stream all the way through. They're there for a reason. They’re purpose-driven there.
“One of the social platforms big mantras is 'we provide the reach that broadcast TV doesn't',” Craig Johnson, the former regional boss for Nielsen Media and now Seven’s Head of Research and Insights, told an Mi3 podcast. “One thing that VOZ is very quickly proving out is that you can find all your reach on broadcast TV and BVOD."
Johnson said YouTube certainly delivers vast reach but "the argument from me is that it's not the only place you can get incremental reach. They've sort of positioned themselves as this is the only place you can get these men, 18 to 24, watching the skateboarding videos. Actually, we had a lot of those men, 18 to 24, into the snowboarding at the Winter Olympics.”
ThinkTV CEO Kim Portrate is more blunt: “The notion that the duopoly can reach the folk that TV somehow on the big screen don’t is an absolute furphy. Let’s not forget that the reason people are watching is because they want to watch what the broadcasters are making.”
OzTam CEO Doug Peiffer said VOZ was developed in a way that adds more credibility to the numbers than the digital platforms.
“We don't start counting until it's been at least 15 seconds in. So it's not two seconds, it's not six seconds. We purposely made it look closer to television in terms of the metric there,” he said. “And then what we see on the BVOD side of things, if you chose to go watch Survivor or Married at First Sight or one of these programs, we see that the majority will watch almost 95 per cent of the content. So they're sitting through the ads, they stream all the way through. They're there for a reason. They’re purpose-driven there.”
Nine’s Richard Hunwick said most BVOD viewers are watching on big screens, meaning more people could be watching the ads.
“There is likely to be two, maybe more people actually sitting in front of the TV screen that are being impacted by not just the content but also the advertising,” Hunwick said.
(L-R): Seven's Craig Johnson, Nine's Richard Hunwick, ThinkTV's Kim Portrate and OzTam's Doug Peiffer.
Are you paying attention?
The television networks are preparing ammunition to demonstrate higher levels of attention on TV than the digital platforms. Nine last week shared the results of its study with Amplified Intelligence, finding longer levels of 'Active Attention' on mobile and connected TV BVOD platforms, followed by linear TV. All performed well, Nine says. Seven, meanwhile, is carrying out its own, longer, attention study.
“There's a wealth of research in market, particularly when you look at social platforms, that there's much greater levels of attention on TV content, irrespective of the device that's delivered on,” Portrate said.
“We know that while there is definitely incremental reach delivered on both, the attention factor of the viewer is not as good as TV, and that particularly on YouTube... attention disappears as soon as you can click that skip ad button.”
