The launch of the Singapore TV Audience Measurement (SG-TAM) integrated viewership data will enable broadcasters and advertisers to better tailor their offerings to meet evolving audiences’ needs.

The first in Asia to offer such integrated data, the enhanced SG-TAM system is now able to understand cross-screen viewing behaviour, to capture unduplicated TV viewership figures across digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Launched in 2016, SG-TAM tracked viewership on TV and other digital devices separately. Today, the integrated TV viewership data will enable broadcasters to make better programming decisions across different viewing screens to develop more quality content for their audiences. For advertisers, the insights into the demographics of viewers will help inform decisions on targeted advertising spend. The data will be accessible to subscribers of SG-TAM within three working days of a programme’s scheduled telecast on a linear platform.

Among seniors aged 65 to 69, ownership of a smartphone has jumped from 57% in 2016 to 83% in 2018. In addition, SG-TAM’s digital panel data shows that more than 8 in 10 are consuming media content on their smart phones each month, making the tracking of cross-screen viewing of media content even more important in today’s media landscape.

Mediacorp is the first broadcaster to use SG-TAM’s integrated measurement system to track the viewership of their programmes across TV and other digital devices. Online platforms which are currently being measured under SG-TAM include Mediacorp’s Toggle, Channel NewsAsia, 8world, Berita and Tamil Seithi.

IMDA is currently in discussions with other broadcasters and online content owners to track the viewing of their programmes on other digital devices.

Mr Howie Lau, Chief Industry Development Officer, IMDA, said, “SG-TAM is a great resource for content production and strategy, as well as targeted marketing. We welcome more content players, from international broadcasters, to OTT players and online content owners, to come on board and benefit from the insights the system can provide. At the same time, Singapore audiences can look forward to quality shows as we grow to better understand their viewing preferences.”

“This marks a real milestone for the Singapore video market, especially since viewing media content on smartphones has increased from 23 to 32 minutes per day between January and November 2018 alone”, said Mr. Lee Risk, APAC Commercial Director for media at GfK.

Irene Lim, Chief Customer Office, Mediacorp said: “Today, our viewers consume media using a wide range of devices. With SG-TAM’s enhanced integrated data, we are now able to capture and measure the full viewership lifecycle of our TV content for audiences across different screens. Unified, single-source insights around live and on-demand TV viewing habits will help us make more informed content and programming decisions.”