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Revenue down but BVOD is booming for networks

Broadcast Video on Demand advertising is the bright spot as combined network revenue dips in the last 6 months.

Revenue is down for networks but BVOD is up, in figures released by ThinkTV for the six months to December 31, 2018.

Metropolitan free-to-air, regional free-to-air and subscription TV recorded combined revenues of $2.08 billion, 4.56% lower than  the same six months a year earlier. For the six months to December 31 2018, the advertising market for metropolitan free-to-air and subscription-television fell by 3.97% to $1.70 billion versus the same period a year earlier.

Nine had the biggest metro share in the half with 39.3%, with Seven close behind on 38.4% with 10 at 22.3%.

ThinkTV chief executive Kim Portrate noted the drop impacted by cyclical factors such as the same-sex marriage plebiscite in 2017, the absence of the Ashes Test Series in 2018, and the Hayne Royal Commission throughout 2018.

“The Total TV figures represent a respectable performance in challenging market conditions for all media, particularly given the tougher comparisons in the last half due the return to growth of the free-to-air metropolitan market in the six months to December 2017,” said Portrate.

“TV is proven as the most effective advertising platform and is committed to becoming more effective by giving advertisers new ways to connect with customers. The remarkable growth in BVOD revenue – which doubled in pace versus the same period last year – and new addressable TV advertising products are just two examples of this commitment.”

Broadcast Video on Demand advertising revenues, which include online catch-up services and live streaming, grew by a whopping 42.95%.

The growth can be attributed to the rise of the major networks’ owned BVOD platforms including Foxtel Now, 9Now, 7plus and 10 Play, which were subject to significant financial boosts throughout 2018.

Source: Mediaweek, AdNews

6 Responses

  1. BVOD is still the new kid on the block for the TV Networks, the executives will want to get diversity in advertising revenue and keep plugging the FTA promos to focus viewer attention on the main money earners such as reality TV. Like analogue and landline phones the future improvements in streaming and the multiple choices it offers for viewers could eventually be the demise of broadcast FTA TV.

  2. Nine leads the revenue share, despite Seven being #1 in total people. Looks like strong performance in the key demographics is more important where it counts

  3. If BVOD is booming then why do the networks make their viewers sit through the same ad on repeat in every ad break during a show? I don’t have good TV reception at home so online stream live TV. They show different ads on the streaming service then they do on broadcast version which makes no sense. Channel 10 even show a loop when ads are on the same 30 second audio piece on repeat. I can’t stand it I have to mute it. When will the TV stations treat their BVOD viewers with the same respect as their broadcast TV viewers? Don’t get me started on channel 7’s cricket coverage which won’t let you cast it to your TV using a Chromecast device. Which isn’t watching it on a mobile device to interfere with Cricket Australia’s mobile app.

    1. Because they make money from advertising. More viewers, more ads, more money. Maybe when growth stops or reverses they will change their model. While people are using it and the number of people using it are increasing, it’s not going to change.

    2. Probably because they are the advertisers that have signed up to have their ads on that platform, the networks aren’t just going to pop on ads that companies haven’t paid for just to vary what is seen. With this report the advertising departments of the various channels may now have the ammunition they need to get more businesses on-board. They may now be able to offer TV and Online or TV only or Online only packages to them, this is all early days for VOD and not every company jumps in as an early adopter, so for now we see the same ones a lot.

      As for 7 and the Cricket, that may not be up to Seven, they may be restricted because of the Cricket App, Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports, much like Telstra are with the AFL and NRL app they have (hence the small viewing screen in the corner).

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