OzTAM partners with Samba TV & Nexxen for data project

OzTAM has partnered with Samba TV and Nexxen to launch a proof-of-concept project to transform audience measurement in Australia through big data integration.

This project, set to unfold in 2025, explores how new measurement possibilities can be identified and utilised within Australia's media industry. The first phase will investigate the opportunities and benefits of big data. During the second phase, OzTAM intends to collaborate with industry leaders to create an integration roadmap to fuse new data sources with existing measurement panel data, a move expected to enhance the understanding of total video consumption in Australia.

The partnerships with Samba TV and Nexxen are integral to these efforts. They utilise data from over 2.2 million connected TV sets, encompassing an audience of more than five million individuals. This will complement OzTAM's panel of 8,500 homes selected from an annual survey pool of 65,000, which involves 4,600 Streaming TV Meters and 16 million connected devices.

Karen Halligan, OzTAM CEO, remarked, "The global expansion of connected TV adoption and high-speed internet is unlocking a new era of audience data that promises to transform how we understand and measure viewership. We are excited to collaborate with Samba TV and Nexxen to integrate big data with our established panel data, taking our Total TV measurement service to new heights. This next step in moving towards incorporating big data into the trading currency is not just a game-changer – it's the future of audience measurement."

Yasmin Sanders, Managing Director for APAC at Samba TV, stated, "As OzTAM elevates Total TV measurement to the next level, the impact for agencies, advertisers, and broadcasters will be transformative. Samba TV pioneered ACR technology to bring accuracy and scale to viewership measurement, and by combining our diverse first-party dataset with OzTAM's trusted framework, we're setting a new standard."

"This partnership delivers comprehensive precision and actionability that brands and broadcasters need to navigate today's evolving viewing landscape with confidence. This isn't just an evolution—it's a bold step toward a smarter, more transparent future for audience measurement in Australia."

Josif Zanich, Nexxen's Managing Director JAPAC, commented, "We're thrilled to partner with OzTAM on this proof-of-concept, bringing our scale and expertise in data-driven insights to the evolution of TV measurement in Australia. With viewing behaviours becoming more fragmented than ever, it's critical to have a measurement approach that captures the entire audience journey. By combining Nexxen's unique and extensive dataset with OzTAM's trusted panel, we aim to deliver a more holistic view of how people engage with TV content, providing greater clarity and value to advertisers and broadcasters alike."

In contemporary television measurement, big data harnesses a combination of return-path data from set-top boxes and automatic content recognition data from smart TVs, a method increasingly influencing global audience measurement practices.

OzTAM's recent activities include transitioning the market to VOZ Total TV currency, launching VOZ Streaming, and expanding its Streaming TV Meters in panel homes, among other advancements designed to maintain its position at the forefront of audience measurement services.