Our Annual Exploration of the UK's Viewing Habits MAY 2019
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Our annual exploration of the UK’s viewing habits MAY 2019 bjective information is critical for the UK’s television and advertising industry. Each year, £7.5 billion is spent by broadcasters and advertisers on the production and distribution of programme and commercial content. BARB provides an independent, joint-industry currency that is trusted to assess the return on this investment. Dealing with audience fragmentation has been a constant aspect of BARB’s work since our formation in 1981. Fragmentation today is driven by the rise of programmes and commercials being delivered online and on-demand. We constantly develop our measurement techniques to meet the needs of the industry with high-quality data. In recent years we have developed techniques to report the use of BVOD services on TV sets, tablets, PCs and smartphones; pre-broadcast and box-set viewing on TV sets and dynamically-served advertising. The Viewing Report brings to life the latest insights from BARB. We hope you enjoy reading it. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 5 MEET OUR GUEST ESSAYS CONTRIBUTORS Kelly Cates 6 2018: A year of televisual sporting brilliance HELLO, Kelly Cates is a sports Kelly Cates broadcaster for Sky Sports and BBC Radio 5 Live. She brings to 8 How are multiple-screen data changing the life why 2018 was a year of sporting way we plan TV? Welcome to the 2019 edition of The Viewing Service development is a constant for BARB MEDIA CONTEXT brilliance for British television. Emma Moorhead Report. and there’s more to do. One of this year’s priorities is to deliver the next stage of IS CRUCIAL 10 The importance of a joint industry standard Emma Moorhead The thread to pick up on in this year’s Project Dovetail, which will provide AND BARB Becky Marvell Emma Moorhead is Head introduction is the need for unduplicated unduplicated reach and time spent viewing PROVIDES FULL of Activation Planning at reporting of who’s watching what. across multiple screens. TRANSPARENCY Wavemaker. She lifts the lid on NEW INSIGHT Broadcasters, advertisers and media how multiple-screen viewing data agencies want a trusted measure of the We also need to address the rise of ON THE 12 Measuring pre-broadcast are changing the way that media number of people watching programmes unidentified viewing on the TV set. The PROGRAMME agencies plan television. and commercials on different services across evidence to hand on page 22 shows this is ENVIRONMENTS 14 Devices in the TV ecosystem multiple screens. likely to be driven by SVOD services such THAT Becky Marvell as Netflix. BARB hasn’t yet cracked how to 18 Most-watched on devices Becky Marvell is Head of Trust is imperative to any currency. BARB has report viewing to services that don’t want to COMMERCIALS Television Strategy for CENTREFOLD - been delivering an audience measurement be measured; we’re getting closer and hope ARE SEEN IN the BBC. She makes the case for currency throughout the last four decades, to have more news soon. why a joint industry standard is THE TOP TENS OF 2018* and we’re pleased to report the industry’s so important for broadcasters, trust in what we do shone through during a The importance of making progress in this platforms and talent alike. 20 Demography on three screens recent industry-wide consultation. space is highlighted by Becky Marvell of the BBC, who writes about the challenges 22 The growth of SVOD services The consultation focussed on whether we of vying for talent and ideas in a highly- should extend our services to cover online competitive market. It’s clear that a standard HOW DOES DOVETAIL WORK? video platforms. Responses from advertisers audience currency is integral to informing and agencies vindicated our joint industry creative and business decisions. 24 A graphic illustration of Dovetail Fusion approach to providing an apples-with-apples comparison of different viewing audiences. And the broadcasters are clearly succeeding. UPDATED INSIGHT Independence, objectivity and transparency 2018 was a year of particularly big underpin everything we do. numbers, with high ratings for new dramas like Bodyguard as well as for returning 25 Introduction Metrics are a fundamental part of entertainment favourites. Impressive as 26 Timeshift comparability, and the message was plain: these viewing figures were, they were advertisers and agencies support the overshadowed by ratings for England’s run 27 Share by genre duration-weighted metrics used by the to the World Cup semi-final in Russia. Kelly television industry. But comparability isn’t Cates shares a presenter’s perspective on 28 Share by broadcaster just about equivalent metrics. BARB reports the enduring and vital relationship between audiences to channels and services that have sport and television. equivalent responsibilities for the way they 29 Training deliver editorial and commercial content to I hope you enjoy reading this year’s report as viewers. much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together 30 Find out more for you. All in all, the consultation revealed strong support for BARB. Yet we have to acknowledge that this support doesn’t always mitigate frustration at our speed of delivery. The good news is that 2018 was a year of delivery for BARB; in September we launched multiple-screen programme ratings. You’ll find many examples of these new viewing figures in this report and, on page 24, an at-a- glance guide to the Dovetail Fusion method. Justin Sampson Emma Moorhead of Wavemaker considers Chief Executive * Please let us know if the centrefold has already the impact of these new data in one of our BARB been removed and you would like another. guest essays. 6 KELLY CATES KELLY CATES 7 2018: A YEAR OF TELEVISUAL SPORTING BRILLIANCE A certain Liverpool manager is famously viewed by more than a million people across times for England and represented Team GB IN 2018, ALMOST quoted as saying that while “some people Sky and BT Sport broadcasts. In 2009, that at the Olympics in 2012 – her knowledge of EVERY MAN, believe football is a matter of life and figure was only reached by 40 games. the game is phenomenal and can only serve death… it is much, much more important to enhance our coverage. WOMAN AND than that.” Many people would no doubt The enduring popularity of the Premier CHILD WATCHED agree. The plethora of amazing sporting League may not be surprising, but there were In 2018 Sky covered the Netball Superleague, A SPORTING events that 2018 gave us unquestionably a number of other sporting moments that the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, caused a huge range of emotions for the attracted large audiences throughout 2018. all five women’s golf majors and more. In BROADCAST – viewing public. 7.8m people watched some aspect of cricket 2019 Sky will continue its commitment to 97.1% OF THE UK coverage on Sky Sports Main Event or Sky covering women’s sport including the Ashes, POPULATION The Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Sports Cricket, for instance. Six Nations, Netball World Cup and Solheim from South Korea, Commonwealth Games Cup among others. We know that many other from Australia, Football World Cup from Purists will be pleased to see that nine of broadcasters also play a big role in covering Russia and Ryder Cup from Paris were among the ten most-watched cricket broadcasts women’s sport. the special events we were able to enjoy were from the closely-fought Test series on top of the feast of fantastic sport we between England and India. Alastair Cook, Women’s sport is getting closer to realising are served every year. Each of these events now Sir Alastair, announcing his retirement that virtuous circle of improving performance provided wonderfully rich storylines for TV and scoring 147 in his final innings was a leading to increased media coverage and journalists to capture, comment on or simply wonderful story that you couldn’t help but increased investment, creating increased marvel at alongside the viewing public. be moved by. As Steve James wrote in The participation and circling back to improving Times: “It was emotional. Tears were shed. performance. Having female sports The viewing figures back up the theory that It was like being transported momentarily presenters and pundits is an important part sport is extremely important to the nation. into another world.” Live sport delivers such of this – I want girls and young women who In 2018, almost every man, woman and child spectacular moments time and again. see me or Alex on TV to know that this world watched a sporting broadcast – 97.1% of the can be for them too. UK population in fact. Virtually all of those Above: 5th Test, The viewing figures are impressive, but to watched a live sporting broadcast. In a world England v. India return to Bill Shankly’s quote for a moment, Importantly, viewers want to watch. In April, of ever-expanding choice, where we are told © Sky Sports / Getty I do believe that while sport, in itself, might more than 1.5m watched England and Wales Images that ‘old’ forms of entertainment are being not be a matter of life and death, it can play out a 0-0 draw as part of qualification for replaced by new ones, it seems that the Left: Netball certainly be a forum for debate about wider the Women’s World Cup in 2019. England and great British public are still firmly in love with Superleague © Sky issues happening in our lives. There are Scotland have qualified for the tournament watching sport – whether it be in the living Sports / Getty Images numerous examples from sporting history, that will be held in France in June this year.