A New Way to Make TV, A New Way to Measure It.
For a long time the traditional television model seemed impenetrable. It was a well-oiled machine with all the gears (production, delivery and consumption) turning reliably in unison. In the last few years, however, companies like Netlix, Hulu, Amazon and Google have been tinkering away at the engine, challenging old formats and creating new ones.
The latest move from Netlix came last Friday in the form of it’s new series, House of Cards, which was made available to subscribers instantaneously and in its entirety. This move (although not the first) represents a dramatic derivation from the traditional scheduling of programs that appear on broadcast and cable, and immediately spurred question as to the evolving state of TV. Brian Stelter of The New York Times referred to the release as “a lab experiment of sorts, allowing companies to try — and to study — new viewing behaviors”.
A few of these “new behaviors” include consuming content across different screens, taking it on the go and using new services (i.e. Netflix) to consume it. But despite changing habits, the currency of the TV industry is inextricably linked to the ability of companies to measure audiences. Stelter writes;
“Netflix says it won’t release any data about how many of its 27 million streaming subscribers in this country watch “House of Cards,” much to the exasperation of broadcast and cable television executives, who suspect that the show would be relatively low-rated if Nielsen were actually tracking it. But Nielsen is not, partly because Netflix has no advertising.”
It is clear that the ‘who’ and the ‘how’ of TV measurement are now in a state of flux. Traditional players are scrambling to account for audiences (especially younger “cord-cutters”) who are dropping off the grid. At Trendrr, we are experts in, and enthusiastic supporters of, these new behaviors. We have a unique approach to measurement; we leverage social media to monitor viewers as they consume, share, discover and engage with TV. This leaves us exceptionally well positioned to accurately record audience engagement whenever and wherever it happens. Only after consulting our data is Stelter able to interpret the effectiveness of Netflix move and relate it back to other TV shows:
“On Friday “House of Cards” would have ranked No. 6 on the daily chart of most-talked-about TV shows ….By Sunday, though, Trendrr said, it would have fallen out of the Top 10.”
To read Stelter’s article in The New York Times, click the link.