May 1st marks the launch of daily Overnight viewing data via Virtual Australia (VOZ) – the most accurate picture of Total TV viewing, combining broadcast content watched on all screens, anytime, anywhere in one data set.
The debut of OzTAM‘s daily next-day Overnight VOZ data marks the start of a transition period for the industry to become accustomed to the VOZ data and be ready to transact on VOZ. The goal is for VOZ to become trading currency in calendar year 2024.
What is VOZ?
VOZ is Australia’s only source of true national, de-duplicated audience estimates with co-viewing and demographics across all broadcast (linear) TV and full BVOD coverage. It measures all TV sets (internet-connected or not) in homes (Approx. 39% of household TVs are not connected to the internet) and captures BVOD viewing on 16m+ connected devices, regardless of location in Australia.
VOZ is a third-party, neutral, objective and transparent measurement system that will be regularly audited, and is fully representative.
How does VOZ work?
VOZ brings linear TV ratings estimates derived from 20,000+ viewers in OzTAM and Regional TAM panel homes, and 16+ connected devices streaming TV content (broadcast video on demand, or ‘BVOD’), together in a single, detailed database.
VOZ panel homes are selected from 65,000+ surveys/year and continually re-balanced to ensure true representation of Australian population by geography, demographic, and household characteristics.
What are the benefits of VOZ?
Voz provides full national coverage, with no bias towards device type, and enables broadcasters, advertisers and marketers and plan and post-analyse advertising campaigns by individual metropolitan and regional markets, and nationally.
VOZ provides:
• For the industry: Broadcast TV and BVOD audiences delivered in one dataset, nationally – so program and campaign performance can be planned and post-analysed by individual markets right up to a national level.
• For media agencies and advertisers: Cross-platform, broadcast TV and BVOD reach and frequency – revealing for the first time the incremental audience watching only on BVOD.
• For broadcasters: A complete understanding of program content performance, regardless of platform or device.
Industry Reactions
OzTAM CEO Doug Peiffer said: “The entire industry is converging for the start of daily Overnight VOZ data production, and genuinely excited about VOZ becoming Australia’s Total TV reporting standard and transactional currency.
“We firmly believe that seeing the true picture of television performance requires a Total Television view, and VOZ reveals the Total TV picture, powering TV planning, buying and post analysis in our rapidly changing viewing landscape.
“We are proud of VOZ – a world-class all-screen measurement service that has been conceived, designed and developed in Australia, reflecting its distinct geography and population characteristics.
“We would like to acknowledge the collaborative approach and input from the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) over the past 18 months and also appreciate the enthusiasm from the Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA), and the constructive dialogue we’ve held with media auditors.
“Third-party software suppliers (TPSS), who are building the analytical software to process OzTAM data, have made tremendous strides in building the tools needed to handle the latest iteration of VOZ.
“We also extend thanks to the broadcasters, to Regional TAM, and to Nielsen, who are constructing VOZ to OzTAM’s and the broadcasters’ specification.”
Doug Peiffer
Seven West Media Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, James Warburton, said: “The launch of overnight VOZ data is a critically important step in demonstrating the reach and power of national total TV and its leading role in informing and entertaining all Australians and delivering strong results for marketers.
“For too long, the TV industry has focused on its smallest audience – overnight linear broadcast viewers – and failed to clearly highlight the fact that total TV is much more than overnight ratings. The rise and rise of BVOD is a game changer for the TV industry and the new VOZ data accurately reflects how many people are engaging with our industry.
“I’d like to thank OzTAM, Nielsen, the Media Federation of Australia and the Independent Media Agencies of Australia on the launch of this innovative, world-leading total TV currency.”
James Warburton
Nine Chief Sales Officer, Michael Stephenson, said: “The launch of VOZ, the measurement of live, live streaming and on demand television is the most significant development we have ever seen in television.
“VOZ measures the reach that BVOD adds to terrestrial TV and proves that Total TV remains the most effective way to build reach at speed and it measures co-viewing for the very first time.
“We are one of the first countries in the world to launch a cross platform measurement service and our product is more advanced than any other market in the world. Australia is leading the world and our entire industry should be very proud.
“The development of VOZ has been a complex task. I congratulate the teams at OzTAM and Nielsen for their efforts that provides our industry a world class, future facing, cross-platform measurement system.”
Michael Stephenson
Rod Prosser, Chief Sales Officer, Paramount Australia and New Zealand, parent company of Network 10, said: “We’re delighted VOZ Total TV data has officially launched and we can now start to see a complete picture of audience viewing trends across the country.
“As the youngest network, we’ve been an early adopter of VOZ as our audiences are digital natives who consume content across multiple screens, devices and times that suit their lifestyle.
“We know our live stream and BVOD audiences on our digital platform, 10 Play, regularly increase our total viewers by more than 20% in our key programs so we’re thrilled to have the industry now see the true picture and value of these leaned-in audiences.
“We also recognise the complexity behind collecting this information and the persistence OzTAM has demonstrated to ensure data integrity. We thank them for their continued efforts to deliver a world-first Total TV audience reporting system that sets a new international standard in accuracy and timeliness.”
Rod Prosser
See Also: VOZ super users: Advertisers can mix linear and BVOD opportunities for best results