
Hulu and Other TV Ratings Info
TV land is busy. COVID-19 has sent people to their TVs in record numbers for linear and nonlinear views. In the U.S., usage of TVs (internet-connected, smart TVs, cable and broadcast) showed the hours spent using TV per week had gone up 81%. This is mostly “living room” viewing. Even with the opening of some states, the viewing of connected TVs and co-viewing with others in the family is part of the new normal ratings equation.
Here are two changes in connected TV and broadcast TV that may change the landscape as well.
Hulu is introducing “transactional ad format” to its connected TV programming. Three new formats are sure to disrupt: Pause Ads (activated when a user hits the pause button); Binge Ads (which target content to a viewer’s streaming behavior); and now Transactional Ad Format (that will direct viewers to a second screen to interact with advertising).
Transactional will allow viewers to access special offers or make a purchase through the use of QR codes and push notifications to take immediate action on a mobile device. One press release says that this will “upend TV as a top-of-the-funnel advertising medium and build a foundation for bottom-of-the funnel, action-oriented campaigns.”
The other news is that Nielsen is finally going to add out-of-home viewership to ratings. In other words, if you watched a TV show away from home, it didn’t count with Nielsen. This underreported viewership for all shows — especially programming that attracts a crowd like the Super Bowl or series finales. FOX added as much of 11 million out-of-home viewers to its reporting of the Super Bowl. CNBC dropped Nielsen years ago because it felt that most of its viewership for the business channel occurred during the day in business offices, airports and on mobile.
All of this means that better targeting and a more accurate ratings system will be available. It also means that when you are sitting at a bar and watching a game, you are now a real viewer — hopefully, those days are coming back.