The next two years, 2026 and 2027, are going to see two key changes in South Africa’s current TV planning landscape.
The first, scheduled for quarter one 2026, could be viewed as potentially a more minor change. This is when the new TAMS universe will be implemented based on the Establishment Survey (ES) which is taking place in 2025.
The second, scheduled for 2027, will fundamentally change TV planning in South Africa, not only from a data perspective but planning software will be fundamentally different. The second development is for the BRC Total Video Measurement (TVM), which is currently in the RFP process.
Let’s look at the first step change, which is the implementation of the new TAMS TV Universe post the ES in Q1 2026. Currently the TAMS Panel structure is still based on PAMS 2019 and the Pay Universe is based on 2020 audited subscriber figures.
The lay of the landscape
There is no doubt that the lay of South Africa’s TV viewing landscape has changed significantly since 2019. The current criteria that define the TV universe consists of two elements: the household must have a working TV set and an electrical power supply (mains/battery/other).
Viewing landscapes has become increasingly complex as has the terminology. Do consumers know what is meant by analogue, DTT, OTT, VOD, linear viewing as well as all the device options and subscription options? Advertising Land might however, it is doubtful that the average person in the street does.
The structure of questions for the ES is therefore key to ensuring that respondents understand what is being asked. The BRC has held qualitative groups which will inform the questionnaire design. The BRC is also working to ascertain the correct sample proportions needed by area type, region, race and income.
Ask Africa to do ES
Ask Africa has been appointed to carry out the ES. We will only know the changes to the TV universe in Q1 2026, and as per previous universe updates, Broadcasters and agencies will have access to the data prior to the universe update going live.
There is no doubt that it will be a significant step change. Marketers, agencies and broadcasters should allow a period of lenience and adaptation in terms of any commitments, CPP deals or KPI targets. We will only know how viewing and performance is impacted once planning with the new universe data happens.
Remember, there will be a challenging bridging period, where historical data based on the old universe is being used to plan versus the post campaign data, which will be based on the new universe. Flexibility in terms of deliverables is needed during this crucial period.
The move to TVM
The second step change is significantly marked as the BRC is moving to total video measurement (TVM). As per the BRC: The BRC is to establish a TVM system that provides a comprehensive, future-ready framework for capturing audience behaviour across all relevant video consumption platforms.
This system will serve as a single-source measurement solution designed to address the evolving needs of broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies in South Africa’s complex media landscape.
The key objectives
- Comprehensive cross-platform measurement including linear TV, BVOD, OTT, social media consumption as well as out of home and mobile-first viewing.
- Global benchmarking, local adaptation. The system needs to align with internationally recognised measurement frameworks while ensuring adaptability to the unique challenges of the South African market e.g. a diverse population, which is both urban and rural; load shedding and mobile-first audiences; unequal internet access and hybrid trading needs.
- Standardised, trusted and actionable data. The new measurement system must provide credible, independent and transparent audience insights. It must ensure stakeholders across the media ecosystem can rely on it for audience profiling, audience-based media planning and ad trading; cross-platform content strategy optimisation and accurate cross-device broadcaster-post-campaign reporting and effectiveness measurement.
The above are just the broad outlines of how the TV planning ecosystem is going to fundamentally change come 2027 … and that’s just the data.
The software providers e.g. Arianna and Transmit will have to adapt to process the new data and enable planning, audience-profiling, post campaign and all the other metrics and tools currently in use.
Adapt to new software
It’s important to remember that both Arianna and Transmit were created specifically for the current South African TV landscape. Internationally, the software looks and works differently as unlike South Africa, planning and buying is different in international markets which is more of a trading environment.
2027 will therefore be a definite step change, both in terms of data and the need to learn and adapt to new software.
The intention is to concurrently run the old data and new data in order to evaluate and understand the key changes and allow all stakeholders to better understand the new landscape. 2027 will need a grace period before KPIs or commitments can be finalised as broadcasters, agencies and marketers will be entering into a new as yet unseen viewing landscape.
While the above might seem a bit daunting, it’s a much-needed move in the right direction, bringing South Africa in line with the rest of the world and getting a holistic view of consumers viewing habits.
I say, BRING IT ON!
Contributed by Karen Phelan on behalf of the AMF Board. The Advertising Media Forum (AMF) is a collective of media agencies and individuals including media strategists, planners, buyers and consultants through whom 95% of all media expenditure in South Africa is bought. The AMF advises and represents relevant organisations and aims to create open channels of communication and encourage and support transparent policies, strategies and transactions within the industry.
