New OTT audience tracking tools take centre stage in video streaming space

With billions of dollars spent every year on original programming--and movies now being launched via OTTs with theatres remaining shut--the need for audience measurement is stronger than ever

As video streaming becomes more pervasive, new tools and services are emerging to track audiences on OTT (over-the-top) video streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar--something that has not been done before.
 
Last week, Neilsen, one of the oldest market research firms in the world, said it developed a new metric called ‘The Gauge’ which tracks audiences on streaming services. Using a hardware patch in Wifi routers, Neilson is able to determine when viewers tune in based on data consumption.
 
Audience measurement is important for any type of content, especially for advertisers and investors. Google offers a plethora of tools to track videos of YouTube and websites, while cable TV monitoring has existed for decades. In contrast, nobody really knows audience figures for streaming platforms, let alone which shows did well. With billions of dollars spent every year on original programming-–and movies now being launched via OTTs thanks to theatres being shut-–the need for audience measurement is stronger than ever.

 

In its first use of The Gauge--in US and based on a sample size of 14,000--Neilsen uncovered that the time spent on streaming services was 26 per cent of the time spent on TV, up from 20 per cent in 2020 and 14 per cent in 2019 (cable TV is still the king with 64 per cent time-share). Among streaming services, Netflix and YouTube reigned supreme with 6 percent time-share each.
 
The problem here is that Neilsen can only track OTT consumption on smart TVs and not on cellphones and computers, where the bulk audience tunes in. That said, it is seen as a major step because up until now advertisers to analysts relied on company-issued figures or, at best, app usage patterns from third parties.

 
Audience tracking for cable TV has existed for many decades and is done through audio recognition technology. The sampled TV sets and cable set-top boxes are fitted with audio receivers that recognize content (and TV channel) based on sound bites. OTTs don’t allow such integrations yet.
 
In the last five years, several new OTTs have set shop. These include MX Player, Zee5, and several others that target regional content. Based on app usage metrics alone, Disney+Hotstar commands 41 per cent market-share followed by Eros Now and Amazon Prime, according to London-based research group Omdia.
 
“Tracking OTT content is not possible unless you embed the code (with permission of the OTT) into the OTT platforms,” said Subrat Kar, founder and chief executive, Vidooly, a Times Internet-backed start-up that tracks online video campaigns on social media and YouTube. “Now people are trying new ways to make it happen because streaming has become big and will likely take over cable TV.”

 
Neilsen isn’t the only one doing it. Another start-up, Parrot Analytics tracks a metric called “demand expressions” that takes into account a host of data points from the internet. It factors in Google search terms for a series or film, as well as Facebook likes, pirated downloads and Wikipedia traffic to determine its popularity.
 
Netflix doesn’t have advertisements; the bulk of its revenue growth comes from new signups and not by how many hour people watch its content. This is where Parrot shines as it is able to gauge, to some degree of certainty, the interest for a newly released show and thereby its viewership. Parrot also has another metric which it calls “rate of decay” – a figure that denotes waning popularity.

 
“We have long been waiting for a tool of OTT audience measurement. These platforms are very secretive of these numbers. Will wait to see how useful some of these services become in the future,” said Jehil Thakkar, partner- media, Deloitte India.
 
At least two other major integrations for OTT audience tracking are underway. In 2019, research firm Kantar partnered with tech firm VTION to uncover “rich insights into audiences and platform preferences”. They have not shared such data in the public domain. Now infamous BARC too had announced a digital measurement service called EKAM but its initial version did not fly with advertisers, according to media reports.

 
According to a recent report by Frost and Sullivan, OTT monitoring and compliance technology will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16 per cent to $149.7 million from $62 million by 2024.