NIELSEN LIES - A LIE OF OMISSION IS NOT NECESSARILY A LIE...
After every TV show airs on a network channel, advertising agencies around the United States rush to see the reported same day, +3 day, or +7 days numbers that show just how many people watched the ads - ahem, we mean TV show.
For brand advertisers that are buying 30 media spots, this makes absolute sense. But for brand marketers who are directly integrating into the content through product placement, a whole lot of eyeballs are being left unaccounted for. In this blog, Hollywood Branded looks at where those viewers are - and how possibly two times the actual number (or more) are actually watching the TV show.
Foreign Markets, The Land of Plenty (Maybe)
So where are these extra viewers? Well actually, all over the world.
No one - and we do mean NO ONE - actually truly knows how many people really watch any TV show. And that's not to say that TV monitoring systems are inaccurate (despite the fact that they are). What we mean by this is, that there is literally no single system even at the TV network level that calculates how many eyeballs are watching a show in foreign territories. The only thing the U.S. networks care about are shows aired in the U.S., as they have to give make-goods for shows that have low performances to advertisers who buy at higher rates.
And the producers/owners of the content? They kind of sort of know where their shows may be popular - but we can guarantee you that they too don't actually have the real numbers of how many people are watching. That is because when the producer/owner of the show sells their content to a 3rd party, it is not in the best interest for that 3rd party to report that the show is doing outstandingly well in that foreign market, because then their licensing fees to 'rent' the show would go up. So they don't share the information.
And shockingly, no one has put a system in place to measure the numbers. A 'win' for a show is just to be purchased in as many foreign markets as possible. We are simplifying it slightly, but not so much.
Why Do We Know This and Care?
We know this because our agency works with international brands who desperately need and want to let their upper management know the numbers in the foreign markets so they can better rationalize fees spent on US programming - especially when they don't have a U.S. presence. We've searched high and low, talked to every department imaginable, tested various software platforms that measure by specific countries (or at least the premiere episode in certain countries), and more. We've paid for subscriptions to databases and publications that promise metrics and have overall been sorely disappointed by the lack of actual numbers.
And brands never believe that there really is a business that does not measure in numbers. But there is - it's called Hollywood.
Aye Aye Matey
There is, however, one metric that is being reported more and more. And for brands doing Product Placement - it rocks! Perhaps not for the content owners, but as far as metrics and eyeballs go... it really does.
And that metric is due to PIRACY. You know, the illegal downloading of content without going through a source that has paid a licensing fee to allow the content to be viewed. And while Hollywood and others around the world attempt to crack down, it still occurs in rampant numbers.
Torrent Freak did excellent research on the most popular pirated shows in 2015, which we share below. And this is just the tip of the iceberg as all SVOD and Internet downloading sites were not included in this math. The overall winner? Game of Thrones, which is the most pirated TV show on the Internet, with The Walking Dead in second place and The Big Bang Theory in third. No wonder every meeting we have with brands in China still wants to be integrated into The Big Bang Theory - while the show is deemed illegal and inappropriate by the Chinese government, it is one of the most popular shows in the country due to illegal downloading!
And despite government crackdowns in the US, there is no sign, per Torrent Freak, "that TV-show piracy is declining. On the contrary, the download numbers for the most popular shows continue to rise, sometimes exceeding the number of traditional viewers in the US."
Getting Closer To Real Numbers
Below is their compiled list of the most downloaded TV shows worldwide (single episode) for 2015, together with the traditional ratings in the US. The download numbers are estimated by TorrentFreak based on several sources, including statistics reported by public BitTorrent trackers.
Per their notation, online streaming and downloads for file-hosting services are not included since there are no public sources to draw data from. Total piracy numbers will therefore be significantly higher.
Most downloaded TV-shows on BitTorrent, 2015
|
rank
|
show
|
est. downloads
|
est. US TV viewers
|
|
1
|
Game of Thrones
|
14,400,000
|
8,110,000
|
|
2
|
The Walking Dead
|
6,900,000
|
15,780,000
|
|
3
|
The Big Bang Theory
|
4,400,000
|
18,300,000
|
|
4
|
Arrow
|
3,900,000
|
3,920,000
|
|
5
|
The Flash
|
3,600,000
|
4,010,000
|
|
6
|
Mr. Robot
|
3,500,000
|
1,750,000
|
|
7
|
Vikings
|
3,300,000
|
5,010,000
|
|
8
|
Supergirl
|
3,000,000
|
12,960,000
|
|
9
|
The Blacklist
|
2,900,000
|
10,110,000
|
|
10
|
Suits
|
2,600,000
|
2,380,000
|
How Brands Can Leverage More Viewers
While we are not advocates of piracy in any form, brands CAN leverage these additional viewers through a comprehensive Product Placement program, in which their brand is embedded within the TV show. We examine 5 ways brands use Product Placement in this blog to increase sales.
Check out some of our other agency blogs that talk about best marketing practices for product placement and brand integration partnerships:
Have you ever wondered how a comprehensive product placement program works? Or do you want to know how to create a promotional partnership strategy with a movie partner? This video will answer all of your questions as it shows the steps and processes taken by Hollywood Branded that lead to your brand increasing both consumer engagement and sales!
