Time Shifting Of Local TV: Looking For Middle Ground

TV Watch

 by Wayne Friedman Thursday, July 11, 2013

 

NBC Owned Stations has now joined the TVB in saying that live program plus same day ratings are “the most representative of the national C3 standard.” But is that close enough?

Stations no longer want to be paid on live-only ratings. They want some time-shifting impressions to be included, such as same-day ratings. They think that is only fair.

According to the TVB, live program plus same day time-shifted ratings are just 5% above the national C3 rating; by contrast, live-only program viewing data was 16% below C3 for the 2012-13 season. Does that mean media agencies should abandon their all-or-nothing live-only program ratings position?

For many, it would seem that all this needs to move beyond live program plus same day rating -- as well as perhaps beyond the national C3 currency. Media agencies don’t want to pay 5% more; Stations don’t want 16% fewer revenues.

Positioning is everything. So is some logic. No doubt there has been heavy time shifting for years-- and most time shifting probably comes in the same day, right after the initial broadcast of a show.

Media agencies can’t quite sell their clients on the idea of going backward -- that a change in local program ratings to other program ratings would be better. Also, media agencies might not be too convinced -- though national TV sellers will say otherwise -- that C3 should morph into C7 or C14 or C30. Instead, many are hopeful that all non-live viewing -- online, video-on-demand, and mobile – will get included.

Still, the situation isn’t improving. Steve Lanzano, president/CEO of the TVB, said, “This is a wider gap from last season, when live plus SD [same day time shifting] was 8.5% ahead of national C3 and live only was almost 11% behind C3 — and we expect the distance to continue to expand."

Lanzano added, “The argument for relying upon live [program] only as a reasonable local proxy for C3 becomes less feasible with each new season. The distinction will only become more apparent as more consumers adopt the convenience of time-shifted viewing.”

So is it good enough? Valerie Staab, president of NBC Owned Television Stations, said in a press release that live plus same day ratings “should be adopted as the minimum standard for local viewing measurement.” Does that mean NBC really wants live program plus three days of time-shifted ratings?

The national C3 currency was actually a compromise. Advertisers wanted commercial ratings; Sellers wanted some time shifting impressions beyond live viewing. A deal was struck.

Local sellers and buyers also need a business compromise. But it’s not clear what each side will get, and what that compromise will be, exactly.