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Audience Inventory 2015: Free to Air results

Readers vote ABC best in Programming reliability and champion independence from govt influence.

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TV Tonight readers have once again voted ABC as their most-watched network with big ticks for the broadcaster across multiple categories.

There were 1015 questionnaires completed this year, the 7th year of the survey.

ABC repeated its wins as Most Reliable and Most Trustworthy network in Programming -titles it is yet to lose. iview remains ahead of the pack as preferred Catch-Up site. Significantly, this year readers voted the issue of “ABC, SBS independent of govt influence” as the Most Important Issue in Free to Air TV, ahead of “Shows starting / finishing on time’ -that’s a first. They continue to vote “Merging public broadcasters” as Not Important. But there was also some support for “ABC improving political balance” this year.

There were big changes in the amount of Television that viewers watch ‘Live’ as broadcast. Last year 22% of respondents said around 3/4 of their viewing was ‘non-Live.’ This year that has risen to 38%. Similarly, while 25% said they stuck to Live broadcasting last year, now that figure is down to just 4%.

And they are switching from Live to non-Live much earlier in the evening too. Last year 21% indicated they turn to non-Live from 6:30pm or earlier. Now that figures rises to 34%. This contradicts industry wisdom that suggests viewers turn to non-Live after 9pm.

While viewing on Catch-Up sites remain relatively stable, the answer undoubtedly lies in Streaming and Timeshifted (PVR) increases.

This year’s survey included detailed questions on Streaming which indicates 41% of readers have a current subscription. More detailed responses on Streaming will be published later this week.

Around 1/4 of readers indicated they have a subscription to a Virtual Private Network, yet many rated Foxtel well in the area of Programming. More detailed responses on Pay TV will be published tomorrow.

There was also a significant lift in the number of people watching Catch-Up on the TV itself, up from 18% to 38% -on its way to overtaking PC / Mac soon. Tablets are now the favourite device for second-screening, with internet surfing, Facebook and Twitter the preferred habits in that order. Half of readers second-screen every day.

Continuing to irritate viewers are concerns over Programming, such as “Keeping an EPG up to date” & “Finishing a series once it starts.” “Completing the NBN” & offering “Legal, affordable content promptly” are also high on the wish list. “Less Reality TV” also made a big debut this year.

At the other end of the scale, readers aren’t fussed with regulatory matters such as the Reach Rule or the Anti-Siphoning List. “Shutting down illegal piracy websites” was also of little priority.

* denotes multiple answers allowed
# indicates most-grouped response

Which of the following do you watch regularly*?
Free to Air Commercial TV 80%
Free to Air Public Broadcaster 63%
Pay TV 43%
Streaming (subscription) 41%
Community TV 4%

Commercial TV is down 5%, Public Broadcasters and Pay TV both rise by a similar figure.

Do you have HD TV?
HD TV 87%
HD set top box 16%
No 6%
SD Set top box 1%

Which FTA channels do you watch regularly?*
ABC 79%
TEN 69%
Seven 59%
Nine 55%
SBS 47%
ABC2 44%
ELEVEN 40%
GO! 33%
ABC News 24 32%
7mate 31%
7TWO 28%
GEM 27%
SBS 2 27%
ONE 19%
Southern Cross 11%
Prime 11%
WIN 11%
ABC3 8%
Community TV 4%
NBN 3%
NITV 3%
Imparja 0.2%

Up:  ABC, GEM, Community TV
Down: TEN, Seven, Nine, SBS, ABC2, ELEVEN, GO!, 7mate, 7TWO, SBS 2, ONE, Southern Cross, Prime, WIN, ABC3, Imparja

Which PVRs do you have*?
Other 32%
No PVR 28%
IQ2 25%
Topfield 9%
IQ3 6%
IQ 5%
Tivo 4%
Beyonwiz 3%
MyStar 2%
Skippa 0%

Do you subscribe to a Virtual Private Network (VPN)?
No 72%
Yes 26%
Not sure 2%

Do you buy TV episodes online such as through Apple TV or iTunes?
No 73%
Yes occasionally 19%
Yes but just one title 4%
Yes frequently 4%

Which network is the most reliable for starting on time?
ABC 57%
Foxtel 24%
SBS 11%
TEN 6%
Seven 1%
Nine 1%

Foxtel improves this year.

Which network is the most Trustworthy at delivering your shows?
ABC 54%
Foxtel 26%
SBS 8%
TEN 7%
Seven 2%
Nine 2%

Foxtel is up this year.

Who is best at rescheduling cancelled shows?
ABC 38%
Foxtel 25%
TEN 17%
Seven 9%
SBS 6%
Nine 5%

Lifts by Foxtel and ABC but drops at TEN and Seven.

Which do you use for TV guide info*?
On screen EPG 57%
Online guide 42%
Foxtel EPG 37%
App on smartphone / tablet 27%
Weekly Newspaper Guide 17%
Magazine guide 8%
Daily Newspaper guide 7%
ICE Guide 4%
Other 1%

Up: Foxtel EPG
Down: Online guide, Weekly newspaper guide, Daily newspaper guide, ICE

And which do you most prefer?
On screen EPG 32%
Foxtel EPG 22%
Online guide 17%
App on smartphone / tablet 13%
Weekly Newspaper Guide 6%
Magazine guide 4%
ICE Guide 3%
Daily Newspaper guide 2%
Other 1%

Up: Foxtel guide
Down: Online guide, App, Weekly newspaper.

Degree of satisfaction with multichannels#?
EXCELLENT:
(None)

VERY GOOD:
ABC2
ABC News 24

GOOD:
GO!
ELEVEN
7TWO
GEM
7mate
ONE
SBS 2

FAIR:
(None)
TERRIBLE:
(None)

NOT APPLICABLE:
NITV
ABC3

No change for multichannels yet again.

Which is your preferred second-screen device?
Tablet 35%
PC or Mac 30%
Smartphone 23%
None 11%

Tablet now overtakes PC / Mac which slip, while Smartphones also rise.

Which second-screen platforms do you use regularly*?
Internet (surfing) 79%
Facebook 47%
Twitter 32%
Blogs / Forums 20%
None 13%
Tenplay 8%
Other 6%
Plus7 4%
9Jump-in 4%

Not much change this year although both Tenplay and Plus7 improved on former brands Beamly and Fango.

How often do you use second-screen whilst watching TV?
Every day 50%
A few times a week 21%
Never 15%
A few times a month 7%
Less than once a month 4%
“Event TV” only 2%
About once a month 1%

The only noticeable lift was in Every day.

Which official online Catch-Up TV services do you use*?
iview 66%
Tenplay 35%
SBS On Demand 33%
Plus7 24%
Foxtel Go 22%
9Jump-in 18%
None 18%

Up: iview, SBS On Demand, Foxtel Go
Down: Tenplay, Plus7, None, 9Jump-in

How often do you watch official Catch-Up services?
Once or twice a month 30%
Rarely or never 27%
A few times a week 20%
About once a week 19%
Once a day or more 4%

Very little shift this year in time spent watching Catch-Up services.

Which device do you use to watch Catch-Up services*?
PC or Mac 46%
TV 38%
Tablet 34%
Smartphone 12%
None 12%
Other 5%

Up: TV, PC / Mac, Tablet, Smartphone.

Please rate your satisfaction with each Catch-Up Service#:
EXCELLENT:
iview

GOOD:
(None)

POOR:
(None)

VERY DISAPPOINTING:
(None)

NO OPINION / NOT APPLICABLE:
Foxtel Go
9Jump-in
Plus7
SBS On Demand
Tenplay

No change on rating of Catch-Up services.

How much TV do you watch “non-Live”?
About 75% / 38%
About 50% / 20%
About 100% / 19%
About 25% / 18%
None / 4%

Up: About 75%, About 50%.
Down: About 100%, About 25%, None.

What time do you usually start to watch Timeshift?
6:30pm or earlier 34%
7:30pm 28%
8:30pm 16%
9:30pm 9%
I just watch broadcast TV 8%
10:30pm or later 5%

Up: 6:30pm
Down: 7:30pm, I just watch broadcast TV

Rate any or all of the following FTA issues#:
VERY IMPORTANT:
ABC, SBS independent of govt influence
Shows starting / finishing on time
Keeping an EPG up to date
Finishing a series once it starts
ABC, SBS funding maintained
Completing the installation of the NBN
Legal, affordable content promptly available
Making primary channels HD
Multichannels offering better alternatives, not simulcasts
Fast-tracking
ABC maintaining in-house productions
Playing sport live and in HD
Less Reality TV
Catch-Up TV adding content swiftly after broadcast
Reducing on screen clutter (watermarks etc)
Catch Up shows available on all devices
Catch-Up TV
Banning gambling ads
Punishment for breaches of the Code of Practice
OzTAM ratings coding to reflect EPG titles
Better bandwidth for multichannels
Less Twitter included during broadcasts
Making TV ratings = Metro + Regionals
Starting programmes “on the half hour”
ABC improving political balance

IMPORTANT:
Promos that fairly represent the show
Maintaining local content in regional Australia
More Aussie content on Digital Channels
Rolling full credits at the end of a show

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT:
(None)

NOT IMPORTANT:
Merging public broadcasters
Shutting down illegal piracy websites
Laws against illegal piracy

NO OPINION:
Dropping Reach Rule for broadcasters
HbbTV / FreeviewPlus
Trimming Anti-Siphoning List
More subtitles for the hearing impaired

The introduction of “Less Reality TV” & “ABC improving political balance” have both landed as a Very Important issue.
“Better bandwidth for multichannels” & “Starting programmes on the half hour” have both moved from Important to Very Important.
The introduction of “Shutting down illegal piracy websites” & “Laws against illegal piracy” were both voted Not Important
“More subtitles for the hearing impaired” moves from Important to No Opinion

Which is the more offensive on TV?
None 49%
Violence 37%
Strong language 7%
Sexual content & references 7%

Up: None
Down: Strong language

Have you ever participated in a Ratings survey?
No. Never been asked 74%
Yes, in the last 5 years 12%
Yes, more than 10 years ago 8%
No, but I have been asked to participate 4%
Yes in the last 5 -10 years 1%

Up: Yes more than 10 yrs ago
Down: No never been asked

All results have been rounded.

Tuesday: Pay TV Results
Wednesday: Streaming Results

11 Responses

  1. I am honestly surprised SBS2 and ABC24 got as high numbers as they did, considering the nightly ratings don’t often seem to support that.
    Just as I am surprised ABC3 is so low on the list in comparison.

  2. I’m interested in the stat that says TEN (69%) is second behind ABC (79%) as the FTA channel responders watch more regularly.

    I would’ve thought that meant a higher ranking in ratings. I presume it’s the multi channels that make the difference. Then again, maybe more people respond to this blog than have people metres.

    1. Probably just the difference between 1,015 people on this site filling in a questionnaire vs 3,500 homes in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth being looked at by OzTAM with regional having another 2,135 (source of figures: oztam.com.au/TheOzTAMPanel.aspx). Just in the Metro homes it’s over 3 times as many surveyed byOzTAM, so the results are bound to be different.

    2. “Then again, maybe more people respond to this blog than have people metres.”

      Guaranteed this is the case. Remember that the people that have the ratings boxes are selected on a proportional basis. OzTam do not reveal how that proportionality is arrived at, but I guarantee you that one of the criteria is **not** “regularly reads TVTonight” 😉

      Which is kind of a shame, I think.

      1. “…one of the criteria is **not** “regularly reads TVTonight.”
        It’s actually worse than that. They’re not interested in you unless you watch enough commercial FTA. This is understandable given the real reason that OzTAM exists but it does call into question the methodology which is applied to extrapolating the sample data to the population.

  3. There is a reason why there is an increase in Non-live viewing from 6.30pm or earlier, and this is because the networks insist on playing 1hr news followed by up to two hours of reality, followed by a drama show which has started too late, and was available by alternative means anywhere from 2 weeks to 10 months earlier.

    1. I was thinking about the time shifting results, and it occurred to me that we don’t watch any drama shows live on the TV any more. In our house, we watch the project and then maybe one of the reality tvs (currently bach or block) and then as soon as that’s finished we just find something on iview or netflix.

      1. You watch reality live? I only watch news/the project live
        I suppose if you want to vote or tweet or something you might have to, but there are so many ads I usually record it then start watching 20-30 minutes after the start time.
        And drama is just too inconsistent, you have to search the EPG then tape it.
        But that’s just my opinion.

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