Delivering a new, deeper measurement footprint for Australia’s media industry 

OzTAM, the industry’s provider of the VOZ Total TV currency, today announced partnerships with Samba TV and Nexxen, marking the launch of a proof-of-concept (POC) project to explore revolutionary new measurement possibilities for Australia’s media industry.

The POC is scheduled to run across 2025 with Phase 1 set to scope the big data opportunities and benefits. In Phase 2, the project will engage with industry leaders to design a detailed integration roadmap to combine new data sources with OzTAM’s robust measurement panel data – ultimately fuelling the next evolution of audience measurement. A tender process for a production partner is also in motion, focused on aligning cutting-edge technologies and AI with the unique needs of the Australian market.

‍The POC partnerships with technology leaders Samba TV and Nexxen will leverage their vast datasets, sourced from more than 2.2 million connected TV sets and representing an audience of over five million individuals. In tandem with OzTAM’s representative panel of 8,500 panel homes – selected from 65,000 Establishment Survey respondents annually, including 4,600 Streaming TV Meters and with 16 million connected devices – this integration of big data marks an unprecedented step toward reshaping how total video consumption is measured in Australia.

‍OzTAM CEO, Karen Halligan, said “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.”‍

"As OzTAM elevates Total TV measurement to the next level, the impact for agencies, advertisers, and broadcasters will be transformative,” said Samba TV APAC Managing Director Yasmin Sanders. “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.iThis 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.”

"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,” said Josif Zanich, Managing Director JAPAC at Nexxen. “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 the TV measurement space, big data refers to a combination of return-path data (RPD) from cable and satellite set-top boxes, alongside automatic content recognition (ACR) data from internet-connected smart TVs. Adoption of this meshed-data approach is already reshaping audience measurement globally.

‍This announcement further solidifies OzTAM’s leadership in audience measurement innovation. Over the past six months alone, OzTAM has transitioned the market to VOZ Total TV currency, launched VOZ Streaming, and expanded its Streaming TV Meters in panel homes, with more announcements to come.

‍About OzTAM

OzTAM is Australia’s official source of television audience measurement, covering broadcast free-to-air television in the five mainland metropolitan markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth); and granular BVOD viewing on connected devices throughout Australia.

‍OzTAM’s Broadcast TV (TAM) and BVOD (VPM) services are key inputs into VOZ, the Total TV currency by which Australian television is evaluated.‍

The media industry uses OzTAM data to understand viewer behaviour, assist in program development and advertising planning, and to gauge the performance of broadcasters, broadcaster content and advertising campaigns. OzTAM strives to deliver a world class all-screen audience measurement service and develop new tools and data that allow broadcasters to maximise their audiences, and advertisers to reach them. More information at oztam.com.au and virtualoz.com.au.

About VOZ

Virtual Australia, or ‘VOZ’, is the foundation of Australia’s ‘Total TV’ measurement standard. VOZ brings together broadcast viewing on TV sets and granular BVOD viewing on connected devices to provide truly national, de-duplicated, all-screen, cross-platform planning, trading and reporting for Australia’s media industry. VOZ delivers a significant step change in the way Australian television is measured and evaluated, and became Australia’s trading currency on December 29th 2024. More at virtualoz.com.au 

‍About VOZ Streaming

VOZ Streaming is OzTAM’s data enablement service that delivers enhanced programmatic BVOD trading via a common OzTAM dataset while improving the viewer experience by capping the frequency across participating broadcasters’ advertising inventory utilising a consistent anonymised identifier (BVOD ID).

‍Additionally, VOZ Streaming enables the activation of co-viewers to connected TV sets and brings BVOD Programmatic into the Total TV campaign R&F reporting capabilities of the VOZ data base. More information at vozstreaming.com.au

‍About Samba TV

Samba TV, a global leader in AI technology for media analytics, has transformed the TV from a pane of glass on the wall to a window into the heart of audiences. We are a global leader in television technology, powering real-time insights and audience targeting to enable unparalleled marketing efficiency and effectiveness.

Our proprietary first-party data from tens of millions of opted-in televisions, across more than 20 TV brands sold in over 100 countries, provides advertisers and media companies a unified view of the entire consumer journey. Our independent measurement has future-proofed advertising for the next generation, empowering advertisers to connect with their audiences on any platform, across every screen.

‍