Category: Broadcast Research Council

The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC), the independent non-profit industry body providing objective and transparent audience data for the radio, television, marketing and advertising sectors, has announced an imminent major release updating their radio audience measurement data.

The Q4 2023 RAMS Amplify dataset will span a comprehensive 24-month period, from January 2022 to December 2023. As previously communicated through various updates and live sessions, the BRC is aligning the Crosstab dataset with the Reach & Frequency (R&F) dataset for consistency and enhanced analytical capability.

“Historically, the Crosstab dataset was a 12-month rolling, yesterday recall dataset, while the R&F dataset operated on a 24-month rolling, past-7-day (P7D) basis,” said Gary Whitaker, CEO of the BRC. “The Q4 2023 RAMS Amplify release will now standardize both the Crosstab and R&F datasets to a 24-month rolling, P7D view, ensuring coherence and uniformity.”

To reiterate:

• The R&F component is designed for campaign planning, media buying and ad booking purposes.
• The Crosstab component should be used for strategic audience insights and analysis.

In their commitment for timely data delivery, the BRC will not be reworking the Q1, Q2, and Q3 2023 Crosstab datasets at this stage. These datasets will remain available but will be updated to the 24-month rolling, P7D format in due course. Consequently, comparisons or trend analyses between the Q4 2023 Crosstab release and earlier Crosstab datasets should be avoided until the conversion is complete.

The BRC strongly cautions against making comparisons between the different dataset formats, as these comparisons would incorrectly be comparing a 12-month rolling, yesterday recall dataset with a 24-month rolling, P7D dataset. Any apparent increases or decreases when comparing the two datasets are not reflective of genuine audience shifts. Accurate insights into audience changes will only be possible once the Q1, Q2, and Q3 2023 Crosstab datasets have been converted to the new format.

“Please consider the January 2022 to December 2023 dataset as a starting point until the earlier 2023 datasets have been updated,” concludes Whitaker. “We appreciate the understanding and cooperation as we transition to this improved measurement framework. Should there be any questions or clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.”

The Q4 2023 RAMS Amplify dataset spanning January 2022 to December 2023 is scheduled for release in the coming weeks.

For more information on the BRC visit https://brcsa.org.za/

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Recently the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) hosted Ian Garland of Milton Data, modeller of the new RAMS (Radio Audience Measurement) AMPLIFY™ Reach & Frequency data, to present the intrinsic nature of the model. RAMS AMPLIFY™ provides a comprehensive view into radio listening behaviours across the diverse South African market.

“South Africa’s radio landscape is incredibly vibrant with over 300 community and commercial stations broadcasting in 11 official languages across four distinct audience segments,” said the BRC’s CEO, Gary Whitaker. “Accurately measuring listening in this complex environment requires innovative methodologies and robust data integration.”

The RAMS AMPLIFY™ model combines a high-quality CATI (Computer Aided Telephonic Interview) day-after-recall (DAR) survey as the core currency measurement with supplemental data sources. This hybrid approach captures both basic listening metrics and deeper insights.

Key findings on radio in South Africa

Radio is in a good place! The latest RAMS data highlights radio’s continued strong reach and resonance in South Africa:

• 75% of South Africans 15+ listen to radio weekly, with an average daily time spent listening of 5 hours and 12 minutes.
• Radio scores well across all socio-economic groups.
• Even as digital platforms grow, broadcast radio co-exists strongly, with 68% of social media users and 76% of music streamers being weekly radio listeners as well.
• Commercial and public stations attract varied audiences, with many stations garnering over 1 million weekly listeners across languages like Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, and English.

“Radio’s intimacy and local cultural connections enable it to thrive alongside new media,” says Whitaker. “Stations like Ukhozi FM, Metro FM, and Umhlobo Wenene FM remain powerhouses with vast footprints even as digital behaviours advance.”

Fusing data for a complete view of audio

The plan – construct a 7-day listener from a CATI based DAR methodology by building a synthetic panel of listeners.

While the CATI survey is the core of RAMS AMPLIFY™, the BRC worked to incorporate other data sources to enrich insights. Their previously proposed MediaCell passive measurement panel was paused in October 2023 due to various challenges deploying the app in certain segments.

By skilfully fusing and modelling the CATI data, RAMS AMPLIFY™ data provides both robust ratings and rich insights. Advanced modelling starting with 73 920 respondents and a 24-month database creates a virtual panel of 400,000+ respondents to allow for reliable analysis of listening by municipality, socio-economic segment, age and more.

“We’ve created a best-in-class fused solution that combines the advantages of a high-quality phone survey with leading data science techniques,” confirms Whitaker. “This allows us to deliver a true single-source view of audio alongside robust planning data for radio.”

Looking ahead

Going forward, the BRC will further enhance RAMS AMPLIFY™ with improvements such as a streamlined questionnaire, a crosstab database that is aligned with the planning database in that it too is a 7-day dataset and 24-months rolling, potential incorporation of online and face-to-face elements when gathering data and the inclusion of streaming listeners into the planning data. They also aim to examine opportunities beyond audience measurement such as fusing RAMS AMPLIFY™ with audio need-states.

“With a solid core measurement now established, we can explore radio’s role in the full audio landscape, including streaming, podcasting and more,” concludes Whitaker. “Our goal is to provide an unparalleled understanding of how brands can best utilise audio to engage audiences across South Africa.”

For additional information, the full presentation and video can be found at https://brcsa.org.za/brc-rams-amplify-modelling-update-march-2024/

For more information on the BRC visit https://brcsa.org.za/

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Last year, The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) released the new RAMS (Radio Audience Measurement) AMPLIFY™ Reach & Frequency data to the media and advertising industry. The data was modelled by Ian Garland of Milton Data, and this month, Ian will be visiting South Africa to present the intrinsic nature of the model.

The BRC’s CEO, Gary Whitaker says, “We are pleased and excited to be hosting Ian in Johannesburg and Cape Town as he discusses the new RAMS AMPLIFY™ Reach & Frequency background and data with the media and advertising industry. Diarise the 19^th of March in Johannesburg and the 20^th of March in Cape Town.”

This new innovative Reach and Frequency radio data model, based on P7D (Past Seven Days) listenership for the South African market has been modelled by Ian Garland of Milton Data who has pioneered ground-breaking work for the likes of Oztam, Commercial Radio Australia, Fox Sports, BBC, NBC Universal and IAB Australia.

The new data model relies on a 24-month version of the BRC’s/Ipsos’ day after recall survey. This dataset includes over 70 000 respondents. The data includes information about people’s listening habits claimed for yesterday and the last seven days and the standard categorisation details for these respondents such as province, age, gender, population group, metro/urban/rural status, and socio-economic measures.

Johannesburg

When:  19 March 2024

Where: Bryanston County Club, (Bryanston Room)

Time:   10h00

Registration link: https://brcsa.co.za/rsvp-rams-registrations/

Cape Town

When:  20 March 2024

Where: Two Oceans Aquarium, Dock Road, V&A Waterfront

Time:   10h00

Registration link: https://brcsa.co.za/rsvp-rams-registrations-cape-town/

BRC Contact Person 1: Anele Ntuli, +2774 554 0571 or anele@brcsa.org.za

BRC Contact Person 2: Boitumelo Pooe, +2783 309 7193 or boitumelo@brcsa.org.za

“These sessions are open to everyone interested or involved in South African radio or in the measurement of thereof,” concludes Whitaker. “Ian will be available in a Q&A session afterwards and we look forward to welcoming him to South Africa.”

For more information on the BRC visit https://brcsa.org.za/

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The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) has officially unveiled and enacted updates to the Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS) universe estimates, leveraging insights from the recently conducted 2023 TV Establishment Survey (ES).

According to Gary Whitaker, CEO of the BRC, “The 2023 ES reveals significant shifts in South Africa’s TV viewing landscape compared to our last universe update in 2019. Despite the continued prevalence of TV viewership, there has been a remarkable surge in streaming activities across all age groups. Additionally, we are observing the impacts of various factors such as the analogue switch-off, load shedding, and other environmental considerations.”

Key findings from the 2023 ES:

• The number of households in South Africa have increased by 5% since the previous ES in 2019.
• 91% of the total population engages in video viewing on TVs and/or streaming devices. Streaming accounts for 28% of video viewing with the majority using smartphones for streaming.
• TAMS household universe (linear only) has reduced.
• Streaming viewing has increased across age groups and socio-economic levels, especially among the youth.
• Analogue switch-off, economic strain and load shedding have impacted linear TV viewership.
• Internet access has enabled streaming, with 69% of households having smartphone access and 15% having fixed broadband.

Gary Whitaker further commented, “Aligned with international trends, individuals continue to consume a substantial amount of video content; however, the manner in which this consumption occurs has undergone significant transformation. TAMS needs to evolve to precisely mirror South Africa’s intricate viewing ecosystem.”

Last year’s TV ES, with a sample size of 8000, was conducted using a hybrid methodology combining face-to-face and online survey data to obtain a representative national SA sample. The BRC will adjust the TAMS panel composition over time to align with the new universe estimates.

Impact to TV ratings and audience sizes

Given the measurement changes, there will be impacts to TV ratings and audience sizes. The BRC recommends proper contextualization when analysing TAMS data during this transition period.

The TAMS Universe update was implemented and released on Monday, 29 January 2024.

Complete TAMS universe update details as well as profile changes of the TV population and TV panel which include Province, Area type, Population group, Pay/Non Pay TV can be found on the BRC website – https://brcsa.org.za/tams-universe-update-2023-19-january-2024/

To view the full TV ES presentation, visit https://brcsa.org.za/tv-establishment-survey-release/.

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To provide a much-needed 2023 television universe update, the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) commissioned a new Television Establishment Survey (ES). The results of the new ES have been presented and are available via the relevant planning bureaux.

“The Television universe was updated in October 2020; however, much has happened over the past three years. It remains critical that all changes in South African viewership be reflected in the universe,” says BRC’s CEO, Gary Whitaker.

With a sample size of 8 000, comprising of 5 000 face-to-face (F2F) and 3 000 online/CAWI interviews, the new Television ES includes the fieldwork period of November 2022 to February 2023. The mixed methodology of F2F and online was essential to obtain a representative national SA sample. Whitaker confirms, “Nielsen has considerable experience, both internationally and locally, in the process of combining data sets, which ensures that the final ES is the best possible representation of the total market.”

The realm of TV household viewing has undergone a significant transformation, aligning itself with global trends. While individuals continue to consume video content at levels reminiscent of the past, the dynamics of this consumption have evolved considerably.

Despite a 5% surge in the number of households, the overall household viewing experience, encompassing both traditional TV and streaming platforms, has seen a modest dip from 92% to 90%. Nonetheless, this shift in proportionate viewing translates into an overall increase in the total count of viewing households, rising from 15.9 million to an impressive 16.5 million. A myriad of factors contributes to this nuanced change, including the analogue switch-off, the repercussions of lockdown measures, instances of load shedding, and the rise of budget-friendly streaming alternatives amid increased internet access (with 15% of households equipped with permanent/fixed internet). The ubiquity of smartphone access, reaching 69%, further underscores this trend. Additional contributing factors include economic implications, such as income loss due to lockdown measures and other economic factors, alongside a noticeable surge in households exclusively relying on streaming services.

Total video content viewing (total population of 43.6 million) can be segmented into TV set only (65.5%), TV and streaming (19.7%), streaming only (5.8%) and no TV viewing (9%). 86% of the video viewing population use a smartphone, 40% via laptop/computer and 20% on tablets.

It has been four years since the last implemented universe update and when assessing ratings, the following must be considered:

1. The differences in ratings are reflective of a panel that has not been adjusted over a four-year period. Not just any four years, a period of Covid, viewing behaviour changes, greater fragmentation, analogue switch off, load shedding, etc.
2. No adjustments to the panel could be made, according to changes in the environment and universes, as these changes were unknown.
3. There are changes in the TV Universe size and this will have an impact on ratings and audiences.
4. Adjustments to the panel according to the new universes will commence, however, changes need to be made at a pace that will not disrupt the panel too severely.

Considering all these factors, healthy weighting efficiencies are still being maintained when assessing the new TV universe, 82% household and 68% individual (which is very close to the statistically accepted level of 70%).

Profile changes of the TV population and TV panel which include Province, Area type, Population group, Pay/Non Pay TV can be viewed at https://brcsa.org.za/tv-establishment-survey-release/.

The new ES data indicates that 94% of the population have a cellphone with 69% having a smartphone and that 11.4 million own or use a motor vehicle. Top 5 South African banks are Capitec (50%), FNB (16%), ABSA (13%), with Standard Bank and Nedbank at 10% each. Top grocery store is Shoprite, beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage and dogs the most popular pets.

“The world of viewing has changed significantly over the past few years, and the new ES data reflects this,” concludes Whitaker. “Due to the complexities of the world of content viewing, the goal was to try and understand this world and to attempt to mitigate against over/underclaims, misunderstandings, lack of knowledge of equipment, and so on. This is a reality for all surveys in this arena.

Should there be any questions regarding the new ES data, please make contact us and we’ll answer these directly. We look forward to hosting everyone again at the Universe Update presentation.”

To view the full TV ES presentation, visit https://brcsa.org.za/tv-establishment-survey-release/.

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The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) has confirmed that the RAMS (Radio Audience Measurement) AMPLIFY™ Reach & Frequency data has been released to the media and advertising industry with immediate effect.

The BRC’s CEO, Gary Whitaker says, “We are pleased and excited to announce that the new innovative Reach and Frequency radio data model, based on P7D (Past Seven Days) listenership for the South African market, is now available from the software bureaux Telmar and Nielsen.”

The new RAMS AMPLIFY™ Reach & Frequency data has been modelled by Ian Garland of Milton Data who has pioneered ground-breaking work for the likes of Oztam, Commercial Radio Australia, Fox Sports, BBC, NBC Universal and IAB Australia.

The new data model relies on a 24-month version of the BRC’s/Ipsos’ day after recall survey. This dataset includes over 70 000 respondents. The data includes information about people’s listening habits claimed for yesterday and the last seven days and the standard categorisation details for these respondents such as province, age, gender, population group, metro/urban/rural status, and socio-economic measures. Each respondent is weighted and adjusted to match the entire South African population aged 15 and above.

The creation of the Radio R&F model is similar to regular data fusion methods. The main goal is to find donors who match a recipient. These donors’ listening habits represent the combined listening behaviour of an individual across all seven days of the week, radio station, time of day and day of week.

Evaluation of the model focused on comparing the Radio R&F data with the original ‘Day After Recall Data’. This involved specific tests at the station level to ensure similarity between the source data and the modelled data in terms of:

1. The number of people reached weekly, and the average hours listened per person by station.

2. How often people listen to each station (e.g., the proportion listening 1-4 days or 5-7 days a week).

3. Detailed listening frequency (from 1 to 7 days a week) for each station.

4. The demographic makeup of station audiences, considering factors such as:

• Age and gender
• Province
• Population group
• Urban, suburban, or rural location (within the province)
• Socio-economic model

       5. Comparing schedules (Radio R&F vs historic data) in terms of:

• Reach in thousands and as a percentage of the population.
• Number of impacts (advertisements heard by the audience in thousands).
• Gross Rating Points (GRPs).
• Average frequency of listening per person.

The result

The Day After Recall and Radio R&F metrics closely match the essential demographics, and there’s a strong agreement on behavioural metrics, especially for total audience reach and characteristics.

“We understand the importance of this data to the industry and did not wish to delay the release of this data. We will be hosting a session, with Ian Garland, at a later date to present the intrinsic nature of the model,” concludes Whitaker. “We look forward to your immediate assessment of this dataset and any feedback you provide.”

For more information on the BRC visit https://brcsa.org.za/

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Television Universe Update

In order to provide a much-needed 2023 television universe update, the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) commissioned a new Television Establishment Survey (ES).

The Television universe was updated in October 2020; however, much has happened over the past three years. It remains critical that all changes in South African viewership be reflected in the universe.

With a sample of 8 000, comprising of 5 000 face-to-face and 3 000 online interviews, the results of the new Television ES have already been validated and have passed scrutiny. The dataset will be made available to the industry on the 11^th of September. The BRC is aiming to engage with the industry at the end of September 2023 regarding the TAMS universe update. All media agencies will be granted six weeks for scrutiny and planning prior to the universe update taking effect.

Future Proofing Video Measurement

The new ES data results indicate that there is definite movement within the realm of video viewing. Because of this, new entrants into the marketplace and loadshedding, the BRC are currently reviewing an SDK (Software Development Kit) implementation, which will allow for measurement of streaming, OTT, alternative devices and out of home viewing.

The SDK will be incorporated at a publisher level, resulting in a census output – all traffic across all opted-in publishers. A panel in excess 10 000 respondents will serve as the source of demographic profiling for the census data, a cookie match approach, with the weighting based on the BRC’s latest Television ES. Setup will commence in Q4 2023.

RAMS Amplify™

Regarding RAMS Amplify™ Reach and Frequency, the BRC’s CEO, Gary Whitaker says that the final validations are being carried out by external auditors. The Radio Research Technical Committee will get a first look at the data before it is released to the industry. The BRC confirms that it will happen before the end of August.

Fusion

Additionally, as part of the BRC update, they have confirmed that they will be using the new TV ES as the base survey for the next data Fusion project. Fusion matches respondents from different surveys and combines them into a single dataset. The intention, in the future, is to make use of the Marketing Research Foundation’s (MRF), MAPS (Marketing All Product Survey) data as the base survey. The next iteration of Fusion is expected to be available at the end of January 2024.

In Summary

“It makes sense to use MAPS as the base survey in any fused data project as the survey’s underlying processes, procedures, and protocols have recently been audited and the data it provides is stable and accurate,” says Whitaker. “There is a lot happening in the background at the BRC and in partnership with various stakeholders we’re happy to be delivering South African broadcasting’s single source of truth when it comes to television and radio media currencies – crucial for media audience research.”

For more information on the BRC visit https://brcsa.org.za/

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Recently the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) released and presented the latest RAMS Amplify^TM for the first quarter of 2023 where it emerged that Radio in SA, as a medium, is still dominant and resilient.

“Radio holds a position of dominance within the media environment that is buoyant in an array of media formats,” says the BRC’s CEO, Gary Whitaker. “However, the emergence of this array of media formats is changing the dynamics of the media environment.”

In terms of overall collective media consumption, the act of “viewing” takes the lead with 86%, encompassing various forms such as free-to-air and satellite/subscription channels, video streaming, and TV streaming services. Following closely behind is the “listening” collective, which includes radio, music streaming, and podcasts, accounting for 83% of media consumption. The “internet” collective, consisting of social messaging and social media, takes the third spot with 81% with “reading” occupying the fourth position with 51%, including online newspaper or news sites, print newspapers, and magazines.

Historically, the 35 to 49 year old demographic, comprising of 11.7 million people, are ardent radio listeners but are now increasing their video streaming. Younger listeners, in the 24 to 34 year age group, are increasing engagement with music streaming and podcasts within the listening cluster. Radio listening amongst male audiences is strong at an almost 80% P7D (Past 7 Days) reach with a slight decline in female listeners.

In the middle- and upper-income brackets/ economically active population, radio is stronger, while there is a slightly lower reach for lower income individuals. What is interesting to note is that those segmentations that have a broader media repertoire tend to have a higher radio reach. This highlights and demonstrates radio’s popularity amongst a wide variety of media types.

Music still rates highly in the shows that people like to listen to. Local news, weather, advice and traffic at 65.9%, 64.8%, 59.4% and 55.9 respectively indicates that localised content is still driving radio listenership.

Some interesting radio in SA RAMS Amplify facts:

• More than 26.4 million South Africans, listen to the radio several times a week.
• Almost a third of waking hours is spent listening to the radio.
• Tuesdays and Wednesdays have the highest listening reach.
• Listening only peaks once a day, on weekday mornings from 6:00 to 9:00, drive time.
• At home remains the primary radio setting while listening in the car continues to grow.

Top Commercial Radio in SA Stations for Q1 2023 (P7D):

• Ukhozi FM – 7 597 000 listeners
• Metro FM – 4 535 000 listeners
• Umhlobo Wenene FM – 4 090 000 listeners
• Lesedi FM – 3 597 000 listeners
• Motsweding FM – 3 077 listeners

Top Community Radio Stations for Q1 2023 (P7D):

• Gauteng: Jozi FM – 395 000 listeners
• Eastern Cape: Alfred Nzo Community – 130 000 listeners
• Free State: Motheo FM – 116 000 listeners
• Kwazulu-Natal: Izwi LoMzansi 98.0 FM – 316 000 listeners
• Limpopo: Vhembe 102.4/89.1 – 135 000 listeners
• Mpumalanga: Nkomazi FM – 91 000 listeners
• Northern Cape: Kurara FM – 93 000 listeners
• Northwest: Mahikeng Community – 131 000 listeners
• Western Cape: Voice of the Cape – 211 000 listeners

“Radio, and the RAMS data confirms, holds its strength as an information source, but the listening cluster as a whole is changing because of technology,” concludes Whitaker. “Across the entire income and demographic spectrum, digital listening is on the rise but listening via terrestrial sources remains prevalent. Radio remains dominant and resilient.”

For more information on the BRC visit https://brcsa.org.za/

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The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa DNA

The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC), established in 2015, chief role is to commission and oversee the delivery of radio and television audience measurement research for broadcasters and the advertising and marketing industry.