GfK to take over as South African TV ratings tabulator at Broadcast Research Council in wake of Nielsen's shock exit

Thinus Ferreira

The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) has appointed GfK, an NIQ company, to take over as South African TV ratings tabulator.

GfK's appointment announcement comes a week after Nielsen's shock announcement that it's quitting the country.

According to the BRCSA, GfK will "design and deploy the country's new Total Video Measurement service".

It comes after South Africa's broadcasters asked for an overhaul of the existing TAMS service and identified gaps in measuring the total video audience which continues to fragment and splinter across linear, recorded and catch-up, streaming, and other platforms and means.

The BRCSA in a press release, notes that "Broadcasters have been acutely aware of shifts in viewing that have built up over time and asked the BRC to ensure the service evolves accordingly".

After a procurement process was run, the BRC approached GfK with the finalisation of the contract that is underway.

The first phase of the switch-over will be a new TV currency service "feeding into daily TV trading", according to the BRCSA.

The BRCSA promises that the market "will have a clear, shared, and trusted daily TV currency that reflects today’s viewing reality for broadcast, and connected-TV usage, for broadcasters, agencies, and advertisers".

This first phase data will start to stream 1 January 2027.

The second phase will bring broadcaster on-demand and streaming for everyday planning, according to the BRCSA, so that broadcaster video-on-demand and streaming are incorporated, enabling planners to manage the combined impact of live and online viewing. 

This phase should be done by the end of 2027.

The so-called "total video picture" phase should be completed by the end of 2027 when the BRCSA plans to deliver a "unified, all-screens service" that will provide "one view of audiences across traditional television and digital video. This will be implemented during 2028.

The BRCSA says it is working with Nielsen "to coordinate an orderly transition".

"Nielsen will continue to deliver data until Phase 1 launches on 1 January 2027".

"By that avoiding any television data blackout prior to and during the handover, ensuring continuity for the industry throughout."

Gary Whitaker, BRCSA CEO, in the statement says "Today's announcement is about business confidence. We listened to the market, reviewed the status quo, commissioned a new Establishment Survey, and ran a rigorous, business-led process".

"With GfK’s appointment we now have a clear roadmap: first a new daily TV currency, then the inclusion of broadcaster on-demand, and by year-end 2027 a true Total Video service that mirrors how South Africans really watch. Broadcasters can prove their reach, agencies can plan with clarity, and advertisers can be sure every rand is working."

Lee Risk, Vice President, Media Measurement at GfK-NIQ, in the prepared statement, says "GfK-NIQ is proud to partner with the BRC and the South African TV industry to deliver a comprehensive, future-ready media measurement solution tailored to the unique dynamics of South Africa".

"This collaboration reflects a shared vision for innovation in media insights, and we’re confident in the strength of this partnership to elevate the industry."

In South Africa TV ratings crisis looms as Nielsen announces market exit

Thinus Ferreira

TV ratings tabulator Nielsen is exiting South Africa after decades, a change that could plunge the country's TV ratings system and everyone depending on its ratings data, into crisis.

The country's TV ratings custodian, however, says it will start work on finding a replacement for TAMS, although ad buyers and agencies are in shock and calling Nielsen's exit a massive blow to South Africa.

While Nielsen in South Africa remains quiet, news leaked that the ratings collector is shutting shop in South Africa.

Telmar, the service using Nielsen data to give ad planners, buyers, agencies and broadcasters insight into audiences and who all use the data to plan ad spend and track audience numbers, told clients in an email that Nielsen is exiting South Africa.

Nielsen's exit will also affect South Africa's Broadcasting Research Council (BRC) that will also have to find a new ratings provider.

The BRC functions similar to the UK's BARB and Australia's OzTAM.

In a Nielsen memo, the South African biz got a shock when they were told that "After careful consideration Nielsen has made the decision to exit the South African market".

"Earlier this month we notified the BRC of our interest in transitioning leadership of the Television Audience Measurement (TAMS) service to another provider within the next 12 months. They are currently evaluating an alternate partner and we anticipate they will share an announcement in the coming days."

"During this transition, we want to assure you that we will continue to fulfill all of our existing commitments."

Telmar which uses Nielsen ratings data, then told clients in a memo, "You may have seen the recent announcements from Nielsen and the BRC regarding TAMS. Some clients have asked whether this change will affect their TelmarHelixa services in South Africa. We want to assure you that it will not."

"Regardless of the BRC's appointed supplier of TAMS data, TelmarHelixa will continue to load and support the TV data as we always have. There is no disruption to your access, no impact on your systems and no change to transmit. Telmar has always been independent and data-neutral."

The BRC, about Nielsen's South Africa exit, said "A new service provider has been identified, and formal appointment processes are being finalised. Details will be announced within two weeks."

According to the BRC, "Nielsen has communicated its intention to exit the South African market within the next 12 months. The BRC is engaging with Nielsen to secure continuity of data during the handover period."

It said that "The BRC remains confident that the transition now underway will strengthen South Africa’s audience measurement system, safeguard industry needs, and deliver a world-class, future-proof solution."

Nielsen didn't respond to any media queries.

An insider told TVwithThinus that despite promises of no changes, that Nielsen's exit is a huge blow and that the impact of the decision to exit South Africa and switch-over will lead to upheaval, changes and uncertainty.

"It's shocking. The big worry is that when the data changes, the big question is how trendable the new data will be, and how trendable whatever the new data is, with past data".

"From a media perspective rates are set according to audiences. Let's say a show commanded a price of R100 000 for 100 000 eyeballs."

"What if the new data from a new ratings agency suddenly says the show that had 100 000 viewers now just have 50 000 viewers, or 150 000 viewers? Everybody's nervous because of the unknown unknowns. Nielsen planning to leave South Africa is huge."

Mmoni Ngubane, SABC spokesperson, didn't respond to a media query about the SABC's reaction to Nielsen's exit.

MultiChoice which operates DStv and Showmax, said it's monitoring developments.

eMedia that runs e.tv, Openview and eVOD, in response to a media query said "eMedia Investments acknowledges Nielsen's departure from South Africa and recognises this as a significant development in our industry's audience measurement landscape".

" As a major broadcaster and content provider, we understand the critical importance of robust, reliable audience measurement systems."

"While Nielsen's exit presents challenges, we are actively engaged with the BRC to ensure continuity and enhancement of audience measurement services. We note that the BRC has already identified a new service provider and is in the process of finalising formal appointment procedures."

Why South Africa's public TV ratings have been ripped away

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's official television ratings have been ripped away from public view and scrutiny, with TV viewership figures no longer being published since 2025 - a decision that industry insiders are slamming as a big step backwards.

The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) industry body with Gary Whitaker as CEO, has decided to stop the publication of its truncated monthly TV ratings tally of the viewership of SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, eMedia's e.tv and MultiChoice's DStv.

South Africa's Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS) panel remains - the viewers' panel used to determine the country's overnight ratings - as does TV viewership measurement done by companies like Nielsen in the South African market.

However, none of the TV ratings that used to be posted publicly for over a decade - initially weekly and later only monthly - are posted on the BRCSA's website anymore. 

Over years, the information gave the general public, the media, viewers, advertisers, broadcasters, academics, as well as the broader South African film and TV industry, general insight into South Africa's top performing TV shows, the flow and change in viewership patterns, and well as what people are watching in terms of numbers and audience share.

Only people and companies like ad buyers and broadcasters who subscribe and pay thousands of rand per month now get access to ratings data. 

TV ratings reports and viewership data published between 2015 and late-2024 remain available on the BRCSA website as archived data.

In comparative TV markets to South Africa, the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (Barb) in the United Kingdom continues to publish TV ratings data weekly without any problem, as does Australia, New Zealand, and the United States where anyone who wants, can instantly see what is being watched and by how many people.

"It is disappointing. I think the media and public should be able to see our TV and broadcasters' ratings and numbers," a veteran ad executive and media buyer told TVwithThinus who accesses South Africa's TV ratings through a subscription service anyway but laments that the BRCSA stopped making the digest monthly ratings publicly available.

Another veteran TV insider said: "Any semblance of transparency is gone and it's impossible for the general public to know what's true when it comes to TV viewership in South Africa".

A veteran academic and university lecturer in TV and film, also slammed the decision, saying the BRCSA's axing of publishing South Africa's TV ratings "is a huge loss to South African scholarship on the local audio-visual industry".

"South African researchers based at public tertiary institutions, and especially postgraduate students, cannot afford to pay the same rates as advertising and marketing companies for the simplified statistics."

"Information about the viewership popularity of a local soap opera, telenovela, or even the evening news broadcast, is extremely important in longitudinal and other qualitative and quantitative research studies, where one can draw conclusions about audience preferences, in terms of storylines, character depictions (e.g stereotypical representations of specific groupings) and other wide-ranging questions."

"This is also a blow to the public broadcaster and the public who has a right to know how the SABC's programmes and content are received and watched and by how many people." 

TV ratings removed

The BRCSA, established a decade ago in 2015 out of the  South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) that until then published ratings, tells TVwithThinus it decided to no longer publish summarised monthly South African ratings information in order to uphold the "credibility" of the audience measurement system.

The BRCSA board is currently comprised of Monde Twala (Paramount Africa), Melissa McNally (Kagiso Media), Antonio Lee (eMedia Holdings), Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee (DStv Media Sales) and Ursula Shikhati (SABC Sales) from television, as well as Tracy Stafford, Johan van Rooyen and Alfie Jay representing radio.

In response to a media query, Gary Whitaker said the BRCSA made the decision in December 2024 to stop publishing any further South African TV ratings publicly "after identifying concerns regarding the interpretation and legitimacy of top-performing programme figures".

"Some entities were extracting data in a manner that differed from the BRC's methodology, creating inconsistencies and confusion."

"Given that the BRC has no control over how data is pulled from various industry software providers, the organisation conducted a risk assessment on supplying audience data directly to the market free of charge."

He notes that the BRCSA wants to preserve revenue and membership value.

"Making audience data freely available could undermine the value of BRC membership, leading paying stakeholders such as broadcasters, media agencies, and advertisers to question their financial contribution."

According to him, a decline in paying members could weaken the funding structure and thereby "threatening the long-term sustainability of audience measurement in South Africa".

Gary Whitaker claims that "Public users may extract and interpret data incorrectly, leading to inconsistencies and potential misrepresentation of audience figures. If different users pull data using varying methodologies it could create discrepancies that erode trust in the JIC's measurement system".

Whitaker says the BRCSA also considered "preventing competitive misuse".

"Unrestricted access to audience data could allow competitors both local and international to use the insights strategically without contributing to funding. Some entities might selectively use data without proper context, potentially misrepresenting trends and distorting the market view."

"By limiting public access, the BRCSA aims to uphold the integrity, sustainability, and credibility of the official audience measurement system while ensuring that stakeholders who invest in the currency continue to derive value from it."

Gary Whitaker was also asked why Barb in the United Kingdom and other countries have no problem to continue to make their countries' TV ratings data publicly available and that the move seems to set South Africa back compared to the insight into viewership and ratings data that is available publicly in other countries.

He says "The TAMS ratings in South Africa are accessible through various software providers, ensuring that both the public and industry have access to viewership data. The BRC's priority is to safeguard the sustainability of the currency by maintaining a sound funding model while mitigating risks associated with free data availability".

Asked if there is another way that the BRCSA will make TV ratings data available to the industry and public, or if this is the end of accessible TV ratings for South Africa, Gary Whitaker said "The data is accessible but must be paid for and pulled by the end-user".

Barb in the United Kingdom said it generally doesn't comment on the way other measurement bodies chose to operate but referred TVwithThinus to its third core purpose listed on its website which it said is quite relevant.

On its website, Barb notes that the third of three purposes of its publishing of ratings data and insights fulfil the aim "to inform how broadcasters and other media services operate in the public interest".

ALSO READ: Why TVSA no longer reports the TAMS

HBO's House of the Dragon on M-Net drew 7 701 DStv Premium subscribers on Monday to watch on linear TV in South Africa.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Monday 7 701 South Africans watched the linear TV broadcast debut of HBO's new fantasy drama series House of the Dragon on M-Net (DStv 101) with 1 500 who were up at 3am to watch the episode at the same time as it was airing in the United States.

While 7 701 DStv Premium subscribers in South Africa watched the first episode of the new dragons and danger series on M-Net as a TV broadcast - the number most important to broadcasters and advertisers - there would also have been some more watching it online on DStv Catch Up who are not included in the official TV ratings tally, as well as people who started watching the pirate copy that leaked on torrent and download sharing sites a day before the show's TV debut.

TV ratings for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa are hard to come by or non-existent since many African countries don't have one but M-Net also showed House of the Dragon on its M-Net Africa channel feed elsewhere on the continent.

According to ratings compiled and provided by the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA), M-Net lured 1 505 DStv Premium subscribers who watched on Monday morning at 3:00, with another 6 196 viewers who watched M-Net on Monday night at 21:30.

In the United Kingdom House of the Dragon pulled 1.39 million Sky subscribers to tune in to the Sky Atlantic channel with 394 000 who watched at 21:00. "Viewing over the last 24 hours for House of the Dragon across Sky and NOW has been as epic as the show itself," Sky said.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) which didn't provide viewership numbers, said in a statement on Wednesday said that House of the Dragon had the largest ever collective viewership across 21 countries for a new TV show or movie in Europe on its HBO Max video streaming service, which is not available in Africa. 

"The platform saw unprecedented demand starting in the early hours which peaked on Monday evening. House of the Dragon is by far the biggest launch in the history of HBO and HBO Max in Europe, breaking previous records for a new title. The number of viewers for the first episode exceeded all expectations."

In America, WarnerMedia in a statement on Monday said "The premiere of House of the Dragon drew 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms in the United States on Sunday night, the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO".

ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. M-Net's beautiful gold-embossed 'black box' press drop for HBO's House of the Dragon on DStv.

ALSO READ: IN IMAGES. Photos from M-Net's Friday night watch party in South Africa for HBO's House of the Dragon.

ALSO READ: HBO's House of the Dragon leaks online as pirate viewers in their thousands swarm to watch it before its linear TV debut.

ALSO READ: TV CRITIC's NOTEBOOK. Here won't be dragons: How HBO and M-Net fire and iced out South Africa's media with no advanced digital screeners for House of the Dragon reviews and very belated watch-parties. 

ALSO READ: TV REVIEW. HBO's House of the Dragon on M-Net ticks many of the boxes from Star Wars Episode I as Westeros' entropy story is set in motion.

South Africa's TV ratings set to tank in suddenly rushed digital migration plan: TAMS and e.tv warn millions of TV households will be wiped away and lose access, severely damaging TV biz and advertisers.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa's TV ratings are set to tank. 

That's the stark warning from the custodian body of South Africa's TAMS TV ratings system, as well as e.tv, raising red flags over the government's suddenly rushed plan to complete its long-delayed digital TV migration plan to switch off all analogue signal transmitters by February 2022.

This suddenly rushed plan will leave millions of TV households without any television access, will severely damage the entire South African TV ecosystem, advertisers, cause TV ratings to crater while it leaves millions of viewers without access to television news content.

On Tuesday, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, South Africa's latest minister of communications and digital technologies, announced the latest amended rushed plan to flip the kill switch on all remaining analogue signal transmitters in the country's 9 provinces within the next 3 months.

eMedia Holdings that says the plan is not practical and extremely damaging, has now filed papers in the High Court to attempt to stop Khumbudzo Ntshavheni's latest digital terrestrial television (DTT) plan for a 31 January 2022 hard switch-off of analogue signals.

Although the South African government more than a decade ago promised that analogue TV signals in South Africa won't be switched off before all TV households haven't been switched over to digital terrestrial television (DTT), the government will now take television reception away from millions of TV households in South Africa.

These viewers will no longer be able to watch or listen to any content on any SABC TV channels or radio stations, e.tv, or community TV stations in the country as they lose analogue TV signals but don't yet have the means of receiving digital TV signals.

These millions of TV households are part of South Africa's TV ratings system that TV channels use to set advertising rates according to TAMS viewership figures. The result is that these TV households will disappear in large swathes when analogue signals are turned off.

Millions of South African TV households still watch television using analogue TV signals and haven't bought digitally-capable TV sets, or are poor households that haven't received the free government-subsidised set-top box (STV) for DTT because of corruption and incompetence, industry-in-fighting and ongoing delays in the country's digital migration process that had severely hampered and delayed the process for a decade and a half.

Over the past decade, TVwithThinus had reported numerous times - as lately as March this year - about the looming danger that analogue transmitters in South Africa will be switched off before all TV households have been migrated that will inflict massive damage on free-to-air broadcasters who depend on ratings and advertising revenue, advertisers, as well as the TV ratings system.

Analogue signal hard kill: Millions of viewers left in the dark

Khalik Sherrif, Media Holdings CEO, in an interview on eNCA (DStv 403), said Media and e.tv don't agree with the suddenly changed and rushed plan to switch off all analogue TV signals by the end of March 2022 "because we don't believe it's achievable at all".

"Analogue switch-off must happen," he said, "but in the way it's being rushed now, it is absolutely unachievable to do this by January 2022." 

He said there's an STB shortage with decoders that are not available, there's a microchip shortage around the world in all industries depending on chipsets, and that there are big questions around the logistics on installations.

"How is it going to be done? 5.6 million TV households in this country rely on analogue transmission," Khalik Sherrif said. "You need to do 500 000 boxes a month to meet the January deadline. It's not going to happen. Absolutely not." He said that eMedia's plan and suggested for the government's amended DTT plan has not been heard.

"This is an absolute problem for the country. There are people who are going to be left in the dark. There's going to be no television available to many millions of households and that's the problem."

He said that "more than 50% of people in this country watching television are watching it through analogue. 

SA's TV ratings: Warning of severe impact

Gary Whitaker, Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) CEO, warned that South Africa's TV population will decline and that the country's TV ratings will tank if analogue signals are switched off before all viewers have migrated, with massive implications for the TV industry and advertisers. 

South Africa's TV universe is roughly 15.9 million TV households.

The passive TV households forming part of the TAMS panel are just over 3000 TV households that represent the almost 16 million TV households in the country. 

TAMS also measures analogue TV viewing, with 28% of the households in the TAMS panel who are analogue viewers and who represent 5.6 million TV households.

"TAMS reflects what is actually happening in the market. If analogue signals go off, anyone in our panel that loses their signal, we don't throw them out of our panel - they stay on - and they get measured as nil viewing. Zero viewing. Their viewership cannot be traded as a currency. The broadcasters cannot make money."

Gary Whitaker said that "the deadline as it stands now - we know that's there's going to be a severe impact on free-to-air channels".

He said that if there is a hard switch-off of analogue transmitters in South Africa wiping away millions of viewers "we have to abide by what's happening in the market and we will be agile as far as we can. If there is a switch-off by March 2022 that's when we will enact our plan to establish a new TV universe that will take into consideration fewer TV viewers. The TV population will decline." 

DTT: Free-to-air broadcasting in jeopardy

Khalik Sherrif said that the government's plan for a sudden hard switch-off of analogue signals within months will have a massive negative impact on free-to-air broadcasters like community TV stations, the SABC, e.tv and others.

"Free-to-air broadcasters make their money from advertising. Now you switch off everybody on a date. Hard switch-off. Viewers won't be measured. Advertisers will be disappointed. Marketers will pull away. Free-to-air broadcasting in the country stands in jeopardy because we lose our businesses," Khalik Sherrif said.

He said there must be a planned approach with Media suggesting a timeframe of 15 to 18 months - not 5 months.

Khalik Sheriff said that it's not just eMedia that will be impacted but all of free-to-air broadcasting in South Africa. "What is the recourse? We have to go to the court. There's no other way. We're definitely not partnering with the department of communications on this matter".

In the court affidavit eMedia filed in court, Antonio Lee, eMedia COO, states that "very recent events have raised alarm bells regarding the process that the minister and Icasa intend to follow to achieve analogue switch-off".

"The so-called 'fast-tracking of digital migration at a 'rapid speed' - without the preconditions for a lawful digital migration process having been achieved - fundamentally threatens e.tv's ability to continue to reach the majority of its audience".

"It also threatens the rights of the public to have access to free-to-air television from either the SABC or e.tv - both of which use analogue spectrum for the purposes of broadcasting their programmes."

"Around 23.5 million viewers in South Africa watch e.tv on average each month. This equates to approximately 6.7 million households in which e.tv is viewed."

"Given than 58% of these households are dependent on the analogue broadcasting of e.tv's news and programming, an analogue switch-off would deny some 13.6 million viewers in South Africa the opportunity to view the broadcasting of the only source of free-to-air independent television news and information programming."

"Many of these viewers are among those who do not have sufficient economic resources to afford digital subscription platforms such as DStv, and who cannot afford to purchase sufficient data to stream news and programming via mobile networks."

"To comply with constitutional obligations and public promises, before digital migration can be completed, the government must ensure that these 13.6 million viewers are provided with the necessary equipment, be it set-top boxes and/or reception devices, to continue to receive these broadcasts."

"e.tv has calculated that an additional 3.9 million set-top boxes are still to be provided to its viewers to achieve this purpose."

ALSO READ: South Africa's TV ratings system and broadcasters risk damage in new monthly analogue TV hard switch-off approach as signal transmitters are shut down in provinces before all viewers have switched to DTT or received set-top boxes.

ALSO READ: e.tv and the SABC silent over the drop-off danger and the threat of disappearing audiences in South Africa's digital terrestrial TV switch-over.

ALSO READ: South Africa's government now ready to leave millions of poor analogue TV households behind in long-delayed digital migration switch that that gets yet another revised deadline of March 2022 for completion.

ALSO READ: SA'S DIGITAL TV SHOCKER: The 'secret' R800 South Africa's TV viewers don't know they'll have to pay just to keep watching their free television.