Brenda Atkinson
MIXED MEDIA
Most of us have accepted that the glory days of television are over, which cannot be altogether bad. For one thing, we are no longer in thrall of Cliff Saunders’s duplicitous droning on the SABC news; for another, the proliferation of alternative news and entertainment media can only improve the quality of content and delivery to all colours of consumers.
But despite being almost six years into the growing pains of the new South Africa, integration of television audiences – at least where the SABC is concerned – remains a marketer’s dream. And according to statistics generated by Media Directions OMD, in a polarised market local content is key to pulling in black viewers in particular. As OMD media director Margy Le Roux puts it, “In the days of Dallas, when whites used to watch the test pattern if they had to, audience ratings [ARs] were as high as 33 to 35. These days, 10 to 12 is considered good for any programme or audience.”
ARs, which simply measure a percentage of an advertiser’s target audience reached at a designated time, have plummeted in the last 10 years from boldly reassuring to quietly hopeful. And indications are that the latest rounds of the television wars will be fought over advertising property that is attached to television news.
SABC flagship news programmes in particular show a sharp decline over a short period: AR reports issued for February 10 to 25 1996, shortly after the expensive relaunch of the SABC, reflect that 8pm news on SABC 3 often scored ratings of between 8 and 12. While the rating for the market category White, Coloured, and Indian (WCI) has remained fairly stable since the beginning of this year for SABC 3 news (mostly between 6 and 9, but with a low of 5 on March 11), the ratings for the category Black Adults on the same channel reflect a much smaller reach: 3,3 on January 1, and as low as 1,3 on March 7.
Perhaps predictably, as the SABC repackages old-style ideologies into new aesthetic devices, e.tv – which is in fact growing its flagship news ARs – is looking beyond market segmentation by racial category, towards market categories that integrate around income and aspiration.
At a glance, it might seem that the SABC doesn’t have too much to worry about: at less than four for both WCI and Black Adult categories, e.tv’s 7pm news ARs aren’t exactly hitting the roof. But the ratings are rising, as is general confidence in e.tv, where news researchers are immersed in a flurry of focus groups and publicity plans.
According to Kim Heller, head of strategy and research at e.tv, results from both black and white focus groups indicate that South Africans find the newcomer more credible than the SABC – whether San Reddy sits on his desk or not. “Black audiences in particular prefer e.tv news,” says Heller, “because they see us as transparent and community- orientated, not defensive and afraid to get the political and social stories behind breaking news.”
She also cites e.tv’s “warmth and casual approach” – the sitting on desks thing – as part of the appeal: “The SABC is still seen as a bureaucratic establishment with a civil servant mentality, whereas e.tv is seen as contemporary and fresh, and above all unbiased. Our research indicated that even heavily party- political supporters still want unbiased coverage, and although our news ARs aren’t where we’d like them to be, the focus groups we’ve conducted show huge equity for us in terms of news on TV. We’re confident that we can grow an already dedicated market.”
In fact, e.tv is so confident that the channel is launching a current affairs programme in the second week of May. The programme, which has pulled in high-level journalists as presenters, will “get behind the news like never before. It’s going to be controversial, and strongly marketed,” said Heller.
Unlike the SABC, e.tv is not particularly looking to please older white South Africans; rather, the channel is aiming to expand its already more even spread in terms of the age and race of its target audiences.
The e.tv target is defined less by race than by lifestyle, attitude, and income: Heller cites “young, often single and independent, moving through living standard measure (LSM) 6 and 7 to get to LSM 8” as key audience characteristics. Similarly, e.tv positions itself as a person trying to make his or her mark on the world: aspirational, interested in current affairs and upwardly mobile.
While their market share to date has been heaviest among LSM 8s – obviously good for ad revenue, and hence a market they will work to retain – e.tv’s growth market is in 6 and 7: a new breed of South African, a generation more integrated and carrying less political baggage than currently financially established (that is, mostly white) audiences.
The question is, how does the SABC – which these days chillingly resembles a disgruntled ghost of the old regime – plan to compete with the new free-to-air channel?
With a censorious new rule in place – that nobody other than Chief Executive Officer Reverend Hawu Mbatha (not even the manager of audience research) may comment on SABC affairs to the media – and with the chances of Mbatha getting back to you with comment apparently next to nil, your guess is as good as mine.