Channel 4
It’s a Sin
Hidden figures
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A high-powered RTS panel hears how Barb is poised to publish regular audience figures for streaming services
fter years of refusal by the global streaming companies to share their viewing data, new light will soon be shed on the performance of Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ – and PSB streaming services such as All 4 and BBC iPlayer – by the industry ratings body Barb. From the late summer, Barb expects to publish regular viewing figures for SVoD services on the same basis as those for broadcast television. This will allow meaningful comparisons to be made for the first time. The move comes as the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons has recommended that the streamers should be
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required to share top-line viewing data for UK shows with Ofcom and domestic broadcasters, so that the full reach of PSB content can be assessed. At a recent RTS lunchtime event, “Hidden figures: Understanding TV audiences in the on-demand age”, Barb’s Chief Executive, Justin Sampson, unveiled previously unreported figures for the fourth series of The Crown. He revealed that 3.7 million people watched episode 1 of the Netflix series during the first seven days it was available. Moreover, “episodes 9 and 10 were watched by around 1.4m people, which points to just under 40% of its viewers getting through the whole series in seven days”. Sampson also used insights from Channel 4’s It’s a Sin to show how
streaming data could increase understanding of audience behaviour, including the relationship between live and on-demand viewing. It’s a Sin premiered on Channel 4 on 22 January this year and all five episodes were immediately available on All 4. The Barb chief said that 4 million people watched episode 5 before it aired in Channel 4’s live linear schedule on 19 February. Far fewer – nearly 900,000 – watched the episode live, while another 1.4 million watched in the four weeks following transmission. The data also revealed that just under 90% of the series’ pre-broadcast audience watched on a TV set, with the balance split between PCs, tablets and smartphones. Sampson added: “Not surprisingly, the live audience was
