Overnight TV ratings around the corner

SAARF's CEO, Dr Paul Haupt, explains that one of the major benefits of overnight TV ratings is greater efficacy for advertising campaigns. "Marketers and agencies will be able to monitor advertising campaigns on a daily basis, allowing for elasticity in the campaign strategy if needs be," he says. "This means that media buyers will be able to change spots that are not delivering, leading to a far more efficient use of the marketing rand."

The SAARF Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS) measures the second-by-second viewing habits of around 1350 weekly reporting households in South Africa, consisting of some 4500 adults aged 16+, and 1000 children aged 7 - 15. The electronic SAARF TAMS peoplemeters automatically record the TV viewing patterns of these households, including what is watched through VCRs, DVDs, M-Net decoders and satellite, and on multiple TV sets.

This data is automatically relayed every 24 hours via radio, cellular telephone or landline, from the TAMS panel homes to a central computer. From mid-July, the data will be reported overnight, and supplied electronically to subscribers.

There will be a parallel-run period to evaluate the data and to give agencies and media owners the opportunity to install the required systems.