- Total Video Measurement (TVM) will launch in South Africa on 1 January 2027.
- TVM will replace TAMS and measure television and online video audiences in a single system.
- The new currency will cover linear TV, time-shifted viewing, connected TV and online video.
- Real TVM test data will be available to broadcasters, agencies and advertisers from the end of October 2026.
- TVM will provide two reporting levels: Broadcaster Total TV and Total Video, with programme- and episode-level digital reporting planned for mid-2027.
The Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRC) has confirmed that Total Video Measurement (TVM) will officially launch on 1 January 2027, replacing the long-running Television Audience Measurement Survey (TAMS) with a single industry currency that measures television and online video audiences together.
The new measurement system will combine linear television, time-shifted viewing, connected TV and online video into one daily dataset, marking a significant shift in how video audiences are measured and traded in South Africa.
The BRC said the decision follows findings from its 2026 Establishment Survey, which showed that South Africans increasingly consume video across multiple screens and platforms. As a result, television and online video measurement will launch simultaneously, with no interim TV-only phase and no back-trending to TAMS data.
“The question is no longer whether we measure online video but rather how we measure the whole picture reliably, on one panel, under one rulebook. TVM does exactly that, and it does it in one move on 1 January 2027,” said Gary Whitaker, CEO of the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa.
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Two reporting levels in one currency
TVM will provide two reporting layers within the same dataset.
Broadcaster Total TV will extend the existing television currency by including connected TV viewing and broadcaster-owned content viewed across devices.
Total Video will add platform-level online viewing on personal devices, including broadcaster video-on-demand services, subscription streaming platforms and certified social video.
The BRC said the approach will allow broadcasters, agencies and advertisers to compare broadcaster audiences with the broader online video market using a common measurement framework.
TVM will be produced according to the BRC’s Mandatory Calculation and Reporting Rules, while certified software suppliers will be able to provide the data through their own platforms.
Industry to receive live test data in October
To prepare the market ahead of the January launch, the BRC will release real TVM test data from the end of October 2026, following broadcaster scrutiny.
The more than two-month testing period is intended to give broadcasters, agencies and advertisers time to update planning and trading systems, retrain teams and validate reporting processes before TVM becomes the official trading currency.
“Giving broadcasters, agencies and advertisers genuine test data more than two months before go-live means teams can retrain, recalibrate their systems and validate their outputs against real numbers well ahead of trading on the new currency,” Whitaker said.
The BRC has urged industry participants to engage with their software providers ahead of October to confirm TVM implementation plans.
Measuring audiences across every screen
At launch, TVM will measure viewing across linear television, time-shifted television, connected TV and online video consumed on personal devices.
Broadcaster streaming viewed on connected TVs will be credited to the relevant broadcaster where it falls within the time-shift window. Viewing of broadcaster content outside that window, as well as platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, will be reported at platform level.
The BRC also confirmed a mid-2027 upgrade that will introduce programme- and episode-level reporting for broadcaster digital platforms using the same underlying measurement system.
TAMS ends as TVM becomes the new currency
The launch marks the end of TAMS as South Africa’s television audience currency.
From 1 January 2027, TVM will become the official industry currency for video audiences, with the BRC retaining responsibility for the research panel, measurement methodology, daily currency production, reporting rules and software certification.
Commercial services, including AdIntel, go-to-market services and buy- and sell-side trading tools, will remain outside the BRC’s remit.
