Adam Gonzalez, Audience Measurement & Insights Manager for Foxtel shares learnings from Foxtel's audience measurement across new devices, current viewing trends and how this information helps shape strategy.
Foxtel has had quite a number of technological developments over recent years with Foxtel on Xbox 360, Foxtel on Internet Connected TVs and most recently, the launch of Foxtel Go on iPads/iPhones/IPod. What do you think will be the biggest challenge in the measurement of these devices?
Certainly the broadcast television industry has experienced unprecedented change. It is definitely a challenge for audience measurement to keep up with the speed of product development, but in saying that, there are new players in the market which are offering quick and comprehensive measurement solutions which are satisfying our immediate needs. The challenge is in consolidating these measurement solutions at the customer and content level. Another challenge will be in finding and agreeing a cross platform metric that we can use to measure audiences. It is a very exciting time to be in this space.
What is some of the progress you have made in device reporting so far?
We have made some headway but are probably only just starting to scratch the surface of what is possible. In November our team developed a performance measurement dashboard for Foxtel Go which was distributed to internal management and participating channel partners. We have now also developed the Foxtel Go performance claim guidelines so that our channels are able to fairly use Foxtel Go performance metrics.
This month, our team launched the All Devices Report which contains a channel’s content performance across all the devices they participate in. Channels will be able to see how many downloads/plays their programmes have had over the course of the month and how many downloads/plays their channels have achieved in total. We have released this report whilst in the background still working to aggregate all measurement sources and lay the foundations for the nirvana of customer/content level reporting.
How is Foxtel using the devices data?
The All Devices report at this stage is being used by the channels to track performance of their programmes and garner a sense of what content works on which device. Additionally, Foxtel are using these insights to negotiate and provide direction to the channels for additional content, and it also aids the product team for future device enhancements.
Would you say that usage of Foxtel on devices has been successful?
Definitely, without a doubt a success. The reason why usage of Foxtel on devices has been incredibly successful is largely due to the added flexibility and control they offer customers over their entertainment experience. Some examples of a few milestones achieved. Last year, the Foxtel Go Olympics App achieved 165k app downloads, and over two million channel plays and nearly 360k VOD plays. It was number 1 in the app store for several weeks. Similarly with Foxtel Go, as of the 20th of Feb has achieved 381K downloads over 7.7million plays and was number 1 in the app store for a number of weeks when it launched. Quite impressive numbers and usage will only grow as Foxtel expands its service over other platforms and more channels become available.
What are some of the trends and interesting insights you are starting to see with Foxtel on devices?
To date, I have seen Connected TV audiences driven primarily by movie content. Foxtel on Xbox 360 audiences are driven by GE, lifestyle and sports. Foxtel Go viewing is an interesting phenomenon because there are a number of factors that are influencing viewing habits and as a result trends are changing on a weekly basis. Once Foxtel Go is completely rolled out to all the platforms and channels that are in the pipeline, then we will truly start to see legitimate viewing trends. In 2012, we saw Foxtel Go driven primarily by news, kids and GE, with live plays comprising the majority of views, yet more time in minutes is spent watching catch-up content.
Another fascinating insight is how devices are providing a platform for niche content, which may not always perform strongly through the set top box however will perform exceptionally well on a device.
What are you most excited for in 2013?
Viewing is no longer restricted to a TV screen and the industry understands this so in a sense we are all on the journey to discovery. At the same time, there’s an unquenchable thirst at Foxtel for more data. So 2013 is shaping up to be a year of discussing, learning and working towards a much more comprehensive measurement and reporting of audience usage.