Discovery Communications Dumps Live + Same Day Ratings Reports
Add Discovery Communications to the growing list of media companies that say they no longer will send the press Live+Same Day ratings, and instead wait for Live+3.
That means no next-day numbers from Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science Channel, Destination America, American Heroes Channel, Velocity, Discovery Life Channel and Discovery Family Channel. The company will, however, continue to distribute Live+SD data for live or special-event programming — Nik Wallenda walks and such.
The reason is simple: in the fourth quarter of 2014, premieres across Discovery’s top networks saw a 23% increase on average from Live+SD to Live+3 delivery in their target demo: adults 25-54. For full year, top series premieres across the company’s U.S. portfolio recorded double-digit gains, including a 41% spike for Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush, a 42% hike for TLC’s Sister Wives, and a 37% jump for Animal Planet’s Pit Bulls And Parolees.
“As time-shifted viewership continues to increase, Live+Same Day data no longer captures an accurate picture and value of our audience, and the lift from Live+3 for many of our top programs is significant and growing,” the company’s chief communications exec David Leavy said, joining the pile-on.
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