Attentional

Attentional Update: The Performance Index

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Attentional's Performance Index (previously Target Index) is designed to answer a very simple, albeit crucial question: is this a good performance?

As all experienced analysts will know, this is not as simple as it sounds. For example, what constitutes a good performance on one channel may represent a catastrophic failure on another. A top peaktime drama on Sky1, for example, would be considered extremely successful if it gained a 5% Share of viewing, but a 10% share of viewing would be considered a disaster for a peaktime drama on ITV1.

Different programme genres on the same channel can also be quite a challenge. For example, a 24% share on BBC1 would be considered about average for a peaktime drama but well above average for a politics programme. Even a very experienced analyst would find it difficult to take all relevant factors into account when generating the appropriate benchmark. Attentional's Performance Index does exactly that, by automatically processing an extensive array of metadata.

Each programme's benchmark is based on a 52 week average of all the shows of the same genre that have gone out in the same timeslot and part of the week (i.e. weekday vs. weekend) on the channel in question. This is then used to create an index (where 100 represents an average performance) to give an immediate indication of how a programme has performed. For example, if a light entertainment show on ITV2 has a Performance Index of 150, this immediately tells us that its share of viewing is 50% higher than the average of all the most relevant comparator programmes over the previous 12 month period. While a Performance index of 50, would be indicative of a poor performance, as the show in question is only achieving half the audience share of its most likely comparator programmes.

The New BARB Panel: Change is Coming

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Attentional’s Head of Consulting, Dr Farid El-Husseini, has taken a close look at the potential impact of the new BARB panel, set to launch on 1st of January 2010, and has prepared a report on the subject which is available here. The article was recently published by Broadcast and is also available here for Broadcast subscribers.

A key shift in the new panel, discussed by Farid, is the abolition of the Multichannel Network panel, and the potential impact of this on the share of viewing indicated for digital channels.

For more information please contact farid.el-husseini@attentional.com or telephone Attentional on +44 (0) 1823 322829.

Attentional Review the Digital TV Market

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

A new report from C21 - UK Digital Channels 2010 - has been made available for purchase, and contains an introduction written by Attentional’s Head of Consultancy, Dr Farid El-Husseini.

The report is available for purchase here. Farid’s research presents a detailed overview of the UK digital TV market, highlighting the key issues concerning television viewing in the UK over recent years, and looks forward to future developments in the sector.

We encourage you to seek out the report, and if you would like more information on Attentional’s research please contact Farid, whose contact details are available here.

Attentional Appoints New Business Development Manager

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ben Philpott as Business Development Manager. He will have a special interest in the Overnights.tv service, working closely with new and existing clients to ensure that they benefit fully from Attentional’s products and services.

“We are confident that our Aqua/Overnights.tv service is a superb product. Our appointment of Ben signals our commitment to lead the industry with this service”, said CEO David Graham.

Ben has spent 20 years at the sharp end of international television production working for clients such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4, FIVE, Discovery and SKY as well as many independent production companies. Ben has experience across all genres of television including drama, documentaries, commercials and reality programmes. Having started as an assistant cameraman and graduating to director of photography, Ben moved in to International Sales and Marketing for a television lighting company where he was responsible for developing the market for cutting-edge lighting technology.

When not working, Ben enjoys spending time with his young family, especially in the big outdoors where they regularly surf and mountain bike.

Please click here for Ben’s contact details

Don't miss out on larger audiences...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Timeshifted channels are increasingly popular. Knowing the performance of programmes across all channels is critical.

Attentional's overnights services include both the '+1' channels and 'Totals'. So you can aggregate the main channel and its timeshifted partner.

For example, your daily overnights could show you that last week's Peep Show got an impressive 1.4m viewers on Channel 4, and then picked up a further 187,200 on Channel 4+1. Or you could simply get a Total figure for both programmes of 1.6m (an increase of 13% on the Channel 4 ratings!).

Aggregation is essential for some genres and channels. Recent episodes of Four Weddings on Living have seen similar audiences for each broadcast on Living, Living+1 and Living+2, totalling nearly 3 times the audience for the first TX.

To get the full story, email us at hello@attentional.com to discuss adding timeshifted and Total channels to your overnights.

Our online analysis tool 'Aqua' at www.overnights.tv also contains figures for timeshifted and Total channels, allowing you to learn even more about your content!

ATTENTIONAL CEO BACKS ENDING THE UK IMPARTIALITY RULE

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Attentional CEO, David Graham, has come out in support of ending the impartiality rules applying to TV and radio news and current affairs in the UK. "The freedom of different media to promote their own views in editorial and op-ed pages is a basic right and a key to the vitality of the political life in a democracy. The impartiality rule constrains this right. It may have once been justified -- but no longer." In appearances on BBC Radio 4's The Media Show (Sep 30) and in the trade journal Broadcast, David argued that most people prefer their news to be impartial anyway, making regulation unnecessary. However, he argued that the BBC should continue to obey impartiality rules.

Links: Click here for Broadcast article, and here for The Media Show

Attentional audit CBS-Chellozone channel deal

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Attentional acted as the performance target auditors during the negotiations for the recently announced launch of six CBS-branded channels in the UK. This followed the joint venture deal struck between CBS’ international arm, and multichannel operator Chellozone.

Attentional’s Head of Consultancy, Dr Farid El-Husseini, worked closely with CBS executives and the Chellozone research team to set realistic performance targets for the new channels that will replace Zone Romantica, Zone Thriller, Zone Horror and Zone Reality, plus Zone Horror+1 and Zone Reality+1.

Chellozone’s Director of International Research, Paul McEvoy, commented: “We are clearly thrilled to have this great content partner relationship in place now, and are pleased that we had Attentional’s expertise as a robust sense-check on the numbers.”

Attentional’s Dr Farid El-Husseini added: “I’m very happy that our knowledge of content and advanced analysis of ratings data helped towards this new venture, and I wish CBS and Chellozone all the very best with their new channels.”

If you would like more information please contact Dr. Farid El-Husseni on +44(0) 1823 320507 or email Farid.El-Husseini@attentional.com.

Pay-As-You-Go Overnights

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

New from Overnights.tv: Ad-hoc overnight reports that can be purchased by credit card and are delivered instantly. Available 24/7 for a selection of the most popular groups of channels, pay-as-you-go overnights provide an affordable option for those who only have an occasional requirement for ratings data.

Of course we still offer great value contracts for overnights clients needing data more regularly, offering substantial savings on the daily rate. To find out more about the overnights, or to purchase a report, please click here...

Pay-as-you-go overnights are available at 9.35am the day after transmission and come in the following packages...

Basic
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five, for the Individuals 4+ demographic.

Basic +
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 4+1 and Five, for the Individuals 4+ demographic.

Multichannel Terrestrials
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, Five, BBC3, BBC4, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, E4, More4, Five USA, Fiver, for the Individuals 4+ demographic.

Entertainment
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, Five, BBC3, BBC4, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, E4, More4, Five USA, Fiver, Sky1, Dave, Bravo, G.O.L.D., Living, Virgin1, for the Individuals 4+ demographic.

Lifestyle
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, Five, Home, Really, Good Food, Sky Real Lives, Discovery Real Time, for the Individuals 4+ demographic.

Kids
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, Five, Fiver, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, CBBC, CBeebies, Nick Jr, CITV, Cartoonito, for the Children 4-15 demographic.

Documentary
BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 4+1, Five, Discovery, Animal Planet, National Geographic, History, Yesterday, for the Individuals 4+ demographic.

U.S. Films Help Retain Younger Viewers

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0100

An Attentional study of free-to-air TV channels covering the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden, has revealed that while TV audiences are growing, they are also getting older - however some genres, notably U.S. feature films are retaining younger viewers. The majority (79%) of 29 channels covered in the study attracted younger primetime audiences (more 16-34s) with U.S. feature films than their benchmark station averages in 2008.

Commenting on the findings, Attentional’s Dr. Farid El-Husseini, Head of Consultancy, said: “The appeal of U.S. films to younger audiences is of particular interest as television audiences are rapidly ageing and younger viewers are increasingly diverted to other, new media alternatives. With fewer younger viewers watching free-to-air TV, the importance of US films in attracting and holding their attention cannot be underestimated especially as this group are a priority audience for advertisers.”

The study also showed that U.S. films play an important role in boosting the performance of the terrestrial spin-off channels in the UK. For the likes of Five U.S. and ITV2, U.S. features are the top-performing TV genre and regularly deliver audiences well in excess of the channel average.

The study also showed that leading U.S. features films generally have a long and valuable lifespan. The performance of Terminator 3 and Die Another Day were analysed over their broadcast history to date in the U.K. and Sweden respectively, and were shown to perform well above the channel average on each successive airing after their premiere broadcast. Pretty Woman is another example of a classic U.S. hit that continues to attract viewers. Despite being constantly repeated since the early 1990s, it was still the third highest rating US film on ITV2 in 2008, beaten only by the much more recently released Bourne Identity and Mummy Returns.

Also revealed from the study was the importance of the ‘franchise effect’. Looking at the Indiana Jones franchise, The Last Crusade was scheduled to coincide with the theatrical release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. On BBC1, The Last Crusade instantly became the channel’s top-performing film of the year with an audience of 7.5 million - well above the channel average - and outstripping the performance of the same film three years previously by 14%. A similar strategy and result was identified on ProSieben in Germany and Rai in Italy. Another example was The Da Vinci Code on Five in the UK in May 2009, within a few days of the UK theatrical release of Angels & Demons. It averaged just over 4 million viewers, making it one of Five’s top performing broadcasts of 2009, and the best film performance on the channel since 2006.

If you would like more information please contact Dr. Farid El-Husseni on +44(0) 1823 320507 or email Farid.El-Husseini@attentional.com.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION PUBLISHES NEW AUDIOVISUAL STUDY FROM ATTENTIONAL

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Attentional is pleased to announce that the study it recently led for the European Commission on Articles 3i, 4 and 5 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive has now been published.

Attentional led an international consortium including Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates, Rambøll Management and Headway International in completing the study. The final report has now been made available on the Commission website at: http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/info_centre/library/studies/index_en.htm#finalised

The aim of the study was to present the situation as regards promotion of European works and independent productions both for linear and non-linear audiovisual media services at the junction between the application of the Television without Frontiers Directive and the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The study also provided the Commission with the initial elements required for monitoring the impact of measures for the promotion and distribution of European audiovisual works on non-linear services.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

Within the study a legal overview of the modes of implementation of Articles 3i, 4 and 5 in the EU Member States is presented, along with an economic analysis of the linear and non-linear market in the Member States.

The study is also the first attempt to define practical solutions in the controversial area of how to monitor the application of Article 3i to non-linear services. It also provides a detailed analysis of the content on linear broadcast channels and non-linear services from a representative sample of Member States.

Articles 4 and 5 existed in the Television Without Frontiers Directive (TVWF) and remain in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS). They are critical to European production and distribution industries, since they specify respectively that 50% of the content of qualifying TV channels must be of European origin and 10% must be independent. Article 3i of AVMS indicates a lighter touch approach has been taken to non-linear content: Member States must ensure that on-demand services "promote, where practicable and by appropriate means, production and access to European works."

Attentional has extensive experience in large European projects. It led the 2005 study of Article 25 in TVWF (which researched the impact of Articles 4 and 5 on linear channels) for the European Commission. It also led a project on the Digital Delivery of Film for the European Parliament in 2006 and was a partner in the Commission study on territorialisation clauses and state aid for the audiovisual industry.

Philip Reevell & Digital Spy join forces with Overnights.tv

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

From today, Attentional’s popular ScreenWatch Blog will be available on our overnights.tv website. But it won’t be alone…

We are delighted to announce that joining our own team will be Philip Reevell from City Broadcasting, and Neil Wilkes and the team at Digital Spy. Reevell’s Ratings was a hit for many years in Broadcast Magazine, and we’re very excited that Philip is bringing his extensive insight into audiences to overnights.tv. Digital Spy brings news on all aspects of TV and the media industry to over 5 million unique users.

We hope you and your colleagues will find their news feed on overnights.tv as useful as we do and make overnights.tv an invaluable source of news, reviews, technical insight – and maybe even a bit of good old gossip.

Reevell’s Ratings Returns…

As author of Reevell’s Ratings, Philip Reevell provided a weekly commentary on UK television programming for Broadcast Magazine for over seven years.

He has extensive experience of broadcast programme analysis, initially with Mersey Television, producer of soaps such as Hollyoaks and Brookside, and then from 1997 as a broadcast consultant working for a range of clients.

He has written extensively on programming and regulatory matters and has been a member of the RTS Council and Edinburgh TV Festival steering committee. He writes a regular blog about broadcasting at reevellsratings.blogspot.com

Digital Spy

Digital Spy is the UK’s largest independent entertainment website, having grown over nine years to over 90 million monthly page impressions and a unique audience reach of over 5 million unique users.

The main site is updated around the clock with news and features in entertainment areas such as showbiz, movies, music and television while the media section covers the latest in the TV broadcasting industry, with a particular focus on digital television and television equipment.

The accompanying discussion forums have more than 290,000 registered users and 28.3 million posts, and is in the top 30 English language forums in the world. Digital Spy is also renowned for its extensive and unique coverage of Big Brother each year through its dedicated spin-off site, DS:BB and has won a WebUser gold award.

Major Enhancements to Attentional's Overnights.tv and Aqua Services

Tue, 05 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

As part of our commitment to make overnights.tv the best online resource for UK television audience data, Attentional is pleased to announce the following enhancements – available from today (05.05.2009).

Programme Reports – Now you can get 5-minute audience flow for lead-in, lead-out and target programmes, identify competing programmes, and search by genre, audience range, TVR, Share, name or part-name.

Flexible account options – New pay-as-you-go accounts and credit card purchases. Only pay for what you use. Current spend in My Account files keeps track of your team’s usage.

Slot analysis – See the best and the worst five minute performance by TVR or Share for 15, 30 and 60 minute periods.

Blogs & News Section – Includes contributions from industry expert Philip Reevell, plus our own ScreenWatch blog and New and Returning Report.

Override Option – Bypass the automatic default and select between Live + VOSDAL or Consolidated data for your reports.

Purchase Orders – Add your own purchase order details to each report to aid processing and assignment to the correct cost centre.

Daypart Queries – Daypart reports for any days of your choice over any selected period.

User Support – Tutorials and info buttons to help you get the most out of overnights.tv.

Top Programmes Report – Top reports by genre, channel or audience range.

Export Charts – Improved graphical export to Excel or PDF.

Developed by Attentional, overnights.tv is a state of the art audience data system producing tailored overnight reports and running AQUA, an interactive web service for searching and reporting on the performance of programmes and channels. It is used by production houses, broadcasters, Hollywood studios, ad agencies and many others. For more information, please email hello@attentional.com.

PRELIMINARY FINAL REPORT FOR AVMS STUDY NOW AVAILABLE

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Attentional, leading a consortium including Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates, Ramboll Management and Headway International, have been completing a study for the European Commission on Articles 3i, 4 and 5 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The preliminary final report has now been made available on the Commission website at: http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/docs/library/studies/art4_5/draft_final_report.pdf

The objective of the study is to give a snapshot of the situation as regards promotion of European works and independent productions both for linear and non-linear audiovisual media services at the junction between the application of the Television without Frontiers Directive and the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The study also provides the Commission with the elements required for monitoring the impact of measures for the promotion and distribution of European audiovisual works, in particular in the area of on-demand services.

A workshop on the study is being held in Brussels on the 18th November, where the findings and conclusions of the study will be presented, and where stakeholders will be able to express their views, which will be considered as the final study report is completed. Information on the workshop can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/info_centre/library/studies/workshop_2008/index_en.htm

If you would like to attend the workshop please go to
http://www.attentionalproject.com/avms-workshop.asp

Ad Value: What can be gained from a Freeview slot?

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

In response to another slot on the Freeview platform being auctioned off, Attentional’s analysts have been looking at how much it is really worth to a channel operator, and what sort of channel could get the best value out of it.

Attentional’s UK Television Forecast predicts that the number of people in Freeview-only households will rise by a further 7.6m by the time digital switchover is complete, but these households will become increasingly skewed towards older viewers. This makes the Freeview slot less attractive to channels with a younger audience profile, as they stand to gain fewer additional viewers.

We created two hypothetical channels broadcasting on the Cable and Satellite platform, both currently averaging the same number of adult viewers and commercial impacts. One of the channels has a younger audience skew (with one third of its adult viewers being 16-34), and the other is skewed towards older viewers (with only one sixth of its adult viewers being 16-34). We then ran these hypothetical channels through Attentional’s 2012 forecasting model. The model is designed to test different hypothetical scenarios for UK television through to 2012, comparing them against a base case scenario.

If the older skewed channel were to launch on Freeview in January 2009 we estimate that it would earn an additional £26m in 2009, rising to £30m by 2012. As might be expected, the younger skewing channel shows fewer gains, with a maximum additional revenue of £20m in 2009, rising to £22m in 2012.

Our forecasts therefore suggest that, depending on audience profile, a major entertainment channel could expect to earn an additional £20 to £30m a year in advertising revenue if it launched on Freeview, with an older skewing channel likely to do significantly better than one skewed towards a more youthful audience.

If you would like more information please contact Dr. Farid El-Husseni on +44(0) 1823 320507 or email Farid.El-Husseini@attentional.com.

COMMERCIAL IMPACTS SET TO RISE 17% BY 2012

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Attentional’s new commercial impacts forecast shows that Total Impacts will rise by nearly 17% over the next 5 years. Commercial impacts for adults in the ABC1 socio-economic demographic will rise even more sharply at 19.5%.

Share of Commercial Impacts (SOCI) will decrease for the main commercial terrestrial networks, but not by much. ITV and Channel 4 will see decreases of 3.2% and 3.6% respectively between 2007 and 2012, leaving them with SOCI figures of 40.4% and 18%. For ITV this shows that the rate of decline in SOCI has significantly improved over recent years.

Virgin Media and BSkyB both look set to increase SOCI by 4.4% and 4.1% respectively, leaving Virgin with a SOCI of 4.4% in 2012 and BSkyB with 6.8%. UKTV should see the largest growth in SOCI, with a 15.2% increase leaving it with an estimated 7.2% share of commercial impacts in 2012.

The Commercial Impacts Forecast is currently available as an interactive database for an annual subscription of £4,500. The database contains forecasts for every BARB-reported channel and covers the years 2002-2012. Four demographic groups are included: Adults, Adults 16-34, Adults ABC1, and Adults ABC1 16-34.

The impacts forecast can also be used in consultancy work. For example, Attentional's analysts can use it to test various scenarios such as a change in the amount of advertising allowed on a channel.

If you would like more information please contact Dr. Farid El-Husseni on +44(0) 1823 320507 or email Farid.El-Husseini@attentional.com.