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Breakfast TV surprises with latest twist in ratings coding

A new strategy in coding ratings for effect has emerged in Breakfast television, and a public holiday is to blame.

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In the game of coding television ratings there are various strategies employed by networks including simulcasts, “Winner Announced” segments and dividing shows such as the 6pm News and The Project into two halves.

But this week we may have a new contender which has emerged in Breakfast television.

Ratings between Sunrise and Today have narrowed, with both shows on the road this week. Enter a Public Holiday on Monday which resulted in Sunrise extending their Hawaiian based show from 9am to 10am.

But while it ran for an extra hour in all 5 cities, Seven coded the show separately in different cities.

In Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, all without the holiday, the 10-11am hour was coded as Sunrise Extended with a separate figure of 126,000 viewers.

But in Melbourne and Adelaide, which had the holiday, there was no such break-out number -meaning the 10-11am hour was merged with the 7-9am figures (which is the standard amongst breakfast shows). Because it was a public holiday, Sunrise attracted extra viewers in the final hour, lifting their ‘7-9’ hour to 321,000 viewers in OzTAM data.

But sources tell TV Tonight the actual numbers for both shows at 7-9am were much tighter, at 298,000 for Sunrise and 276,000 for Today.

Points for creativity?

Seven did not respond to enquiries.

6 Responses

  2. Here’s an idea – if the networks cared more about the viewers and less about the ratings then they might actually find their ratings improve.

  3. OzTam has become a joke. It’s time the ratings system becomes independent from the networks. The networks do what they want because they can and have stakes in the company. I’d call that conflict of interest wouldn’t you?

    1. You mean like it was pre-2000, when AG Nielsen did the ratings? And not like now, when ABG Nielsen does the data collection (and, I believe, most of the analysis) and OzTAM presents the results?

      (That ignores the bit inbetween when OzTAM contracted ATR/AGB pre-Nielsen purchase, and nobody was happy…)

      AIUI, the only real difference is that when Nielsen were doing it off their own backs they’d sell the data/analysis to anyone. Now that they’re contracted to OzTAM you have to buy it from OzTAM – and they ain’t selling much…

  4. It’s all meaningless really, and just for press headlines.

    Any industry insiders know how to read the real numbers.

    And any advertiser paying for airtime looks at apples for apples comparisons.

    Oztam has become a joke.

    1. Thanks to Channel 7 and their abortion performed on Downton and Revenge – I am now into boxed sets. Start on time, Start when I want, no adds and cheaper than Foxtel and ever so slowly putting 7 out of business. We have even pulled all our advertising.

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