This is How to Measure TV Program Ratings, Favorite Shows of People in Sumatra & Sulawesi

Dream - Television viewers are certainly familiar with the term rating from various shows presented by a television station. The higher the rating of a program indicates the number of viewers of that show. 

In addition to being a measure of a television program's success, ratings are also needed by television managers to attract prospective advertisers to invest their promotional funds. 

But have you ever wondered how the rating of a television program is obtained? While print media such as newspapers or magazines can be known from the number of copies produced, does television rating also measure every television owned by millions of Indonesians? 

Quoting a recent written statement from Nielsen Indonesia, it turns out that TV audience measurement is obtained through an instrument called the Nielsen Panel.

This device is installed in more than 12,000 households throughout Indonesia using a device called the Peoplemeter. This device is connected to the televisions in those households.

Viewers who watch television using a remote control will inform the Peoplemeter who is watching and what is being watched.

To determine the rating of a show, Nielsen does not need to install hundreds of millions of devices according to the population of Indonesia. Through sampling methods, this panel, consisting of more than 12,000 households, represents an audience of 130 million people and can measure both analog and digital broadcasts. 

Every year, Nielsen also updates the calculation process by expanding the panel throughout Java, Sumatra, and other populous areas. With this expansion, the number of linear TV viewers in urban Indonesia will increase from 58.9 million to 130 million.

Arnaud Frade, President of Nielsen Asia (Commercial), said that besides enabling TV stations to increase their audience numbers, better audience measurement will also greatly benefit advertisers.

“Advertisers can now be more confident than ever that their messages reach the right audience, in the right place, at the right time, significantly increasing ROI and overall trust in the industry,” said Frade.

People in Sumatra Prefer Watching Movies

Nielsen also revealed that the increase in the number of panels will reflect the diversity of the population and viewing habits in Indonesia. There are many interesting findings available in areas with smaller populations. 

For example, the increase in panels in Sumatra indicates that the island is a movie lover's island, while Sulawesi viewers prefer TV series. 

Nielsen's investment in measuring the Indonesian audience follows the previous industry growth. This includes the transformation of digital measurement and the addition of Nielsen Identity System for Digital Advertising Measurement, Digital Ad Ratings (DAR), which is now available in more than 30 international markets, including Indonesia.

“In a large and diverse country like Indonesia, it is very important for TV stations to be able to demonstrate their strength and reach to various audiences, and we are happy to help them do so,” said Arnaud Frade.

Netflix, Vidio, Disney+ Hotstar, Which One is Accessed the Most?

Dream - In a Nielsen survey, Vidio is the most accessed platform by people using smartphones in 11 cities in Indonesia.

Following Vidio, Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, Viu, RCTI+, iQIYI, and Vision+ are the next in line.

This survey was conducted from July to August 2022 in 11 cities, namely Bandung, Banjarmasin, Denpasar, Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Makassar, Medan, Palembang, Semarang, and Surakarta.

Hellen Katherina, Executive Director of Nielsen Indonesia, said that the increase in mobile streaming consumption is driven by regional and local platforms.

“Vidio (4.4%), Disney+ Hotstar (2.0%), Netflix (1.6%), Viu (1.0%), RCTI+ (0.9%),” she said at the Millennium Centennial Center, Jakarta, on Thursday, December 8, 2022.

Increased access to the internet and smartphone ownership also drives the growth of mobile streaming. Mobile streaming is consumed an average of more than 9 hours per month. Meanwhile, for heavy users, it is 28 hours per month. 

“However, this figure is still far below the average TV viewing time, which reaches 80 hours per month,” said Hellen.

Each platform has its own characteristics, where the most accessed content on the Vidio platform is local and sports content, Netflix for international films and series, and Disney+ Hotstar for children and family films.

“Viu for Asian or Korean content, RCTI+ for sports and soap operas, iQiyi for Asian and Western content,” explained Hellen.

This survey involved a TV panel consisting of 11,500 individuals, with a mobile panel (part of the total) of 3,700 individuals. The age demographics involved are above 10 years old. Meanwhile, the coverage of the applications includes YouTube, Vidio, Viu, Netflix, RCTI+, iQIYI, and Vision.

This Streaming Content Ratings survey uses Nielsen's Peoplemeter tool installed in panel households to observe linear TV viewing habits. It also utilizes the Nielsen mobile meters app on panel smartphones to capture mobile streaming viewing habits.

The top three most accessed platforms have different streaming evolution times in Indonesia, with YouTube first appearing in 2014, followed by Vidio in the same year. Then Netflix in 2016. And Disney+ Hotstar in 2020.