ListenFirst Media – a data and analytics company providing insights for brands – last week launched a syndicated rating system for fan engagement with television and film that will be offered on a subscription basis to networks, studios, agencies, and advertisers. Currently, more than 40 major studios, broadcast networks and cable channels, including A+E Networks, AMC Networks, and Universal Pictures, have signed on as launch partners.
While we have seen analytics companies attempt to create social TV metrics for networks, ListenFirst’s ‘Digital Audience Ratings’ (DAR) will also be creating its metrics for movies to help film distributors adjust their marketing strategies on the fly. On the TV front, DAR will give insight into which shows fans are engaging with on a daily basis, regardless of whether they are being watched on major broadcast networks or Netflix, and regardless if they are being watched in real-time or in a time-shifted setting.
Of course, DAR factors in Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and YouTube, but perhaps the most interesting aspect of DAR is that – unlike most social TV analytics ratings –it incorporates Wikipedia data into its score. When we asked Co-CEO and Co-Founder Jason Klein about what DAR provides to networks that other social TV analytics companies do not, Klein pointed out that DAR is not exclusively social; ListenFirst feels it important to include other measurements of fan engagement, and they use Wikipedia as a proxy for organic search interest.
For more on what separates ListenFirst’s DAR from other social TV analytics companies and why they include Wikipedia in their score, we spoke with Klein:
Lost Remote: What does ListenFirst’s Digital Audience Ratings (DAR) provide to networks that other social TV analytics companies do not?
Jason Klein: DAR is unique in the social TV analytics space on a number of fronts.
1) Universe of Data Sources Tracked: DAR takes into account the broadest selection of critical social and digital platforms, seven to be exact – Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Wikipedia, and YouTube. Since the world of television viewers is enormous – 115M+ households in the US – we felt this was a critical lens to take as we wanted our sample size to be as large as possible, thus the inclusion of platforms with a 1B+ users, like Facebook and YouTube.
2) Data Signals DAR Includes: DAR focuses on fan engagements, meaning we consider owned, earned, and organic signals from fans – not just conversation volume. This allows us to take into account the types of activities that are most common to most of these platforms – liking a post or following a social presence, for example.
3) DAR is Not Only Social: You’ll note that while a majority of our inputs are “social,” DAR is not exclusively about social media. We felt it was critical to include other key sources of insightful and accessible audience behavior, which is why we’re also tracking Wikipedia metrics, for example. We use that as a proxy for organic search interest for every television show in our database.
4) DAR’s POV on Programmers and Timeslots: We’re seeing a fascinating confluence of changes happening across the television landscape: Programming is now available through new platforms (on-demand, downloadable on iTunes, streaming on Netflix, network-specific apps, like HBO GO, etc); Appointment viewing for episodic programming is in decline as viewers are choosing what, when, and where they want to watch content; and streaming providers like Netflix are producing Emmy Award winning content. In light of all this, we wanted to make sure DAR was tracking all programming, every day, whether a program is in season, out of season, or streaming on platforms like Netflix or Hulu. We also wanted to be able to rate shows like Orange is the New Black in the same apples-to-apples way we are rating the rest of linear programming. This is the future of how programming is going to be consumed and we wanted to set up DAR to be just as relevant for the future as it is today.
LR: Among the necessary sites to include like Facebook and Twitter, the DAR takes into account Wikipedia engagement. How do you measure this type of engagement, and why is Wikipedia important to include as part of a complete social TV measurement?
Klein: We leverage Wikipedia as a proxy for organic search, since Wikipedia is often in the top search results and a destination that millions of people go to directly for information daily. We have been monitoring Wikipedia page views daily for tv shows (as well as films and consumer brands) for over two years, and have found fascinating trends around search patterns related to everything from the day an episode premieres to when a show gets renewed or cancelled to announcements around upfronts. We’ve turned dozens of our network clients on to it, and they’ve become vigilant about monitoring Wikipedia data around their shows (and competitors’ shows) and making sure their pages are completely up-to-date with current info.