TVB: Live+SD Closest To National C3 Ratings

TVB reported today that data from the full, recently concluded 2012-13 season indicates live-plus-same-day (live+SD) time-shifted measurement is consistently the best approximation of the national C3 standard for local television viewing behavior of American consumers.

According to TVB, the season average data confirms a February analysis that found that live+SD ratings most closely represent national C3 estimates, while live-only results are moving further away from C3 averages.

Steve Lanzano, TVB president-CEO, commented: “While it’s natural to assume that season finales and May sweeps events may lead to an increase in live viewing, the data demonstrates otherwise. In fact, the gap between live+SD and C3 continues to narrow with the live+SD rating only 5% above the national C3 rating, while the live-only rating is 16% below C3. This is a wider gap from last season, when Live+SD 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 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.”

WCVB Boston) president- GM, and TVB chairman, Bill Fine, concurs. “As the affiliate boards of ABC, CBS and NBC have each attested, the data is convincing that live plus same day is more representative of C3 than live only.  Eventually live+3 will become proportionally more important than live+SD as national ratings move to a potential C7 standard. Inevitably the gap between live only and the accepted ratings standard will increase even further.”

“We’re seeing first-hand the evolution of how viewers consume television content. Time-shifting, screen-shifting and platform-shifting each will continue to become more prevalent in the habits of American consumers,” Lanzano said. “It’s important for the industry to be responsible to advertisers in accounting for these ongoing changes with the most representative data surrogate for C3 available.  Right now, by far the most representative data for C3 is live+SD.”