PwC has released the updated version of the My Screen: Video Consumption in Australia report, replacing the original which was withdrawn over questions about some of the data used.
The new version reduces the reach of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram "largely because we are referring to a seven day time period versus monthly".
Nielsen data has been removed from the second report because "we were unable to gain permission to use the Nielsen Digital Panel or the Digital Content Ratings data to describe total reach in the way we believe is most useful for marketers".
Roy Morgan data was used instead.
The release of the orginal report -- flagged as an effort to provide clarity on how video is consumed by Australian audiences. -- on 22 July sparked a public war of words.
Facebook positioned the report to support the argument that changes to the way Australians consume video suggest it’s also time to change media planning and buying.
However, ThinkTV described the report as Numberwanging saying the "the numbers have been used to inflate, some to hide and others to completely bury the real story about video consumption".
Ben Shepherd, now the chief media officer at CHE Proximity, who wrote the report for Facebook when he was at PwC as director, management consulting, stood by the results.
"The allegations that the data contained within the My Screen report is 'dodgy' or inflated or made up is absolutely incorrect," he wrote on LinkedIn.
PwC CMO Advisory partner Justin Papps said today: “With so many options for today's marketer, this research provides a comprehensive view of video consumption and the different roles various channels play. The majority of the findings in this second report remain consistent with the first, with some revisions to the industry reach analysis which now incorporates data sourced from Roy Morgan."
The key findings of PwC's second report:
The five highest reaching video platforms in Australia remain the same
"In the original report, we stated that the five highest reaching video platforms in Australia are Free to Air TV, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix and Instagram, in that order.
"These findings remain consistent, although the reach of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram has reduced within the new data set largely because we are referring to a 7 day time period versus monthly. Based on Roy Morgan data, these 5 platforms are the only ones to reach more than 7 million, or a third of Australians over 14 years old, whereas in the original report we stated that each of these five platforms reach more than half of the population 14 years or older. We also reported the five highest reaching platforms by demographic. The top five highest reaching platforms by demographic remain consistent, although the order of the top five has changed for all demographics."
Marketers must have a plan with regard to how their organisation will adapt to the proliferation of ad free channels, as their reach is significant
"In the original report, we found that non-ad supported channels reach a significant volume of Australians, and therefore, their usage should be critical to the marketer to understand. Just because a platform does not serve ads, it doesn’t mean that the platform does not have a significant impact on a marketer’s ability to reach consumers via video. The original report showed that the SVOD services are reaching a significant number of Australians across all key demographics measured, and the younger the demographic, the higher the penetration of Netflix. These findings remain consistent; marketers must have a plan with regard to how their organisation will adapt to the proliferation of ad free channels."
Netflix is the primary video platform for three of the top four “most watched” video content genres
"In the original report, we found that consumers’ “most watched” genres include Drama (47%), News and Current Affairs (39%), Comedy (33%), and Documentaries (33%). Of these, Netflix is the primary destination for all but News and Current Affairs, which Free to Air TV dominates. Drama is the "most watched" content genre amongst all video consumers 45+, equal first for consumers 35-44, and second to Comedy for 18-34 year olds. These findings remain consistent."
“Wide range of content” is the primary driver of perceived quality for video platforms
"In the original report, we found that the primary driver of consumer preference when it comes to the video landscape is based on depth and breadth of available content, with a 'wide range of content' being the primary driver of perceived quality for video platforms. These findings remain consistent."
Based on PwC Consumer Research, there is a small bandwidth of claimed attention across video categories
"In the original report, we found that despite marketers incurring varying costs across channels, there’s a small bandwidth of claimed attention across categories. There is only a 10 point difference in claimed attention for various video categories, with SVOD leading the pack, followed by BVOD, Free to Air TV, and then Social. These findings remain consistent."
Papps said: “We produced this report for marketers; to help them make sense of the number of different data sources and methodologies that exist for analysing video consumption in Australia. Each of these data sources can be viewed and interpreted in different ways, creating confusion for marketers and potential inefficiency in how media budgets are planned and bought.
“The original report used data from a range of sources, including Nielsen’s Digital Panel, as this is one of multiple data sets which the industry uses.
"We removed the Nielsen data from the second report because we were unable to gain permission to use the Nielsen Digital Panel or the Digital Content Ratings data to describe total reach in the way we believe is most useful for marketers.
"Using the Roy Morgan data has enabled us to speak to total reach of each platform, consistent with the methodology from the initial report. We believe the total reach of each platform is the most appropriate representation of reach, as it speaks to advertisers' and marketers' ability to reach a consumer on a platform, and their opportunity to see a video.
"One of the biggest challenges facing marketers today is that there is no agreed source of truth on how video is consumed across the plethora of platforms and devices now used by consumers.
"Our core purpose with this report has always been to provide marketers with a perspective on Australia’s complex video consumption landscape and how to reach consumers via this medium,” he said.
“With video making up such an important part of most media plans today it is critical that the industry develops a clear and independently verified picture of how all these video viewing opportunities work together to drive reach. We hope that this updated version of the My Screen report will help to inform and aid marketers with their planning and media buying.”
CEO of Roy Morgan, Michele Levine, said Roy Morgan’s Single Source data, which is used for the reach analysis in the report, is designed to provide valuable information and insights for media, agencies and advertisers based on an independent, consumer-centric measurement system across all media and all platforms.
"The research design is based on a simple premise – ask questions to get answers, ask everyone everything to get truth - and include machine based data collection to enhance the accuracy of detailed behaviour such as time spent on websites across all media and all platforms,” said Levine.
"Roy Morgan Single Source is a nationally representative sample of 50,000 in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with people in their own homes – enhanced by machine based digital data.”
John Broome, CEO AANA said: “In the absence of a single source, the AANA continues to support research which seeks to inform marketers about their choices. We supported the work done by ThinkTV and Dr Karen Nelson-Field, and again with this PwC Facebook study. The AANA will continue to do so with future initiatives that advance market understanding for marketers.
“We are not yet living in the ideal world where we have an independent measurement of unduplicated audience consumption of all forms of video let alone all media. So we recognise the challenges of using the available sources in the meantime. It's a difficult challenge and we recognise the weight of effort undertaken by PwC and Facebook in this instance. We do this because we know that marketers want to efficiently and effectively optimise their communications mix and given no one channel can provide a complete answer for any marketer, it’s important to continually inform marketers of their choices.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.