Viewers spread love thinly for TV
Viewers are abandoning "live" primary free-to-air channels.
And making matters worse for the networks, there has been a small but significant decline in the number of viewers watching programs as they air.
No longer are we seeing half a dozen or more shows consistently drawing more than a million plus viewers in the overnight ratings, like in recent years.
Last Sunday (March 22) there were five programs which topped a million - The Block headed the list, and the average number of viewers across OzTAM's overnight top 10 was 976,000.
A year ago (Sunday, March 23), there were seven shows with more than million viewers, again with The Block at the top of the heap, and the average number of viewers was 1.229 million.
This week's OzTAM data shows a 0.9 per cent decline (2011-14) in "live" TV audiences against a back drop of a 0.3 per cent increase in total viewers.
The decline may not seem a major deal but the bigger picture is fewer people are tuning in to watch major shows on primary channels, which is a double whammy for the networks.
During the same four year period, there was a 0.3 per cent increase in catch-up TV and a 0.9 per cent increase in optional viewing such as streaming and DVDs.
Now with the launch of Netflix, Stan and Presto, it appears likely "live" TV numbers are going to slip further.
OzTAM ceo Doug Peiffer says consumers are spoilt for choice with more households having more TV sets while the digital age has delivered about a dozen new free-to-air channels.
"It's really about choice, per device, per TV in the household which tends to spread people around and that's the largest impact," Peiffer told AAP.
Just how much damage Presto, Netflix, and Stan will inflict on the overnight ratings is yet to be seen.
QUT media analyst Dr Jason Sternberg suggests the free-to-air programming model is dead and networks need to think how to make revenue by streaming their shows, especially imported dramas.
"The model is not broken, it's gone," Dr Sternberg said.
"You need to be able to watch your favourite US show when you want, so you can watch it on the bus or train going to work or even at lunch on your tablet or mobile phone."
Dr Sternberg compared "live" TV to viewers making an appointment to watch a program and the younger generation have shown they like to control what and when they do it.
He doubts if Netflix will have an immediate impact on Foxtel subscriptions, but as the streaming giant increases its library, it will start to attract more people.
"It will pick up a market, but if you really wanted Netflix, you would have it by now," he said.
"If I was Foxtel I would be concerned about Netflix in the longer term, when the people who play it safe with technology start to catch up."
Peiffer said it was unknown if the three new streaming services will impact on the ratings.
"It's probably too early to say what Netflix, Stan and Presto and over the top services will do to the ratings at this point," he said.
"The overall viewing is still there, it's just spread across more content."
