IMDA integrates TV and digital viewership data with new measurement system

Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has launched an integrated viewership data under the Singapore TV Audience Measurement (SG-TAM), to enable broadcasters and advertisers to better tailor their offerings to meet evolving audiences’ needs.According to IMDA, the enhanced SG-TAM system is now able to understand cross-screen viewing behavior and capture unduplicated TV viewership figures across digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and PCs. SG-TAM was launched in 2016 and previously tracked viewership on TV and other digital devices separately. The latest integrated TV viewership data, will enable broadcasters to make better programming decisions across different viewing screens to develop more quality content for the target audiences.For advertisers, the insights into the demographics of viewers will help inform decisions on targeted advertising spend. The data will be accessible to subscribers of SG-TAM within three working days of a programme’s scheduled telecast on a linear platform.Online platforms currently being measured under SG-TAM include Mediacorp’s Toggle, Channel NewsAsia, 8world, Berita and Tamil Seithi. IMDA is currently in discussions with other broadcasters and online content owners to track the viewing of their programmes on other digital devices.Howie Lau, chief industry development officer, IMDA, said that SG-TAM is a resource for content production and strategy, as well as targeted marketing. The team aims to bring in more content players, from international broadcasters, to OTT players and online content owners to benefit from the insights the system can provide. He added that Singapore audiences can look forward to quality shows as the broadcasters grow to better understand their viewing preferences.Mediacorp's chief customer officer Irene Lim said with SG-TAM's enhanced integrated data, the broadcaster is now able to capture and measure the full viewership lifecycle of its TV content for audiences across different screens."Unified, single-source insights around live and on-demand TV viewing habits will help us make more informed content and programming decisions," Lim said.Meanwhile, Lee Risk, APAC commercial director for media at GfK, said the integrated viewership data marks "a real milestone" for the Singapore video market, especially since viewingmedia content on smartphones has increased from 23 to 32 minutes per day between January and November 2018 alone.