In a major development for Australia’s media landscape, OzTAM, the country’s official TV audience measurement provider, has announced that Netflix has joined its audience measurement ecosystem. This marks the first time a global streaming platform has agreed to have its Australian audience independently measured by OzTAM, setting a new benchmark for transparency and collaboration in video content viewership.
The move is seen as a game-changer in aligning streaming video-on-demand (SVoD) services with traditional free-to-air (FTA) and broadcaster video-on-demand (BVoD) platforms under a single measurement system. Initially, Netflix viewing will be reported through Streamscape, OzTAM’s newly launched total video report. The tool combines data from SVoD, FTA, and BVoD to offer a comprehensive overview of how Australians consume video across different devices.
Streamscape uses OzTAM’s Streaming TV Meters (STVMs), which track viewing on connected TVs, smartphones, tablets, and computers across thousands of panel homes in Australia. This technology ensures that all types of streaming activity are accurately captured and reported.
Karen Halligan, CEO of OzTAM, said, “This partnership with Netflix is a major milestone in our journey towards a unified Total Video measurement system. The Netflix partnership is a meaningful step towards unified, Total Video measurement. We look forward to delivering rich, accurate, and actionable audience insights to the industry as we continue to build towards converged trading, no matter which screen content is consumed on, or who it is delivered by.”
OzTAM’s plan is not stopping at Streamscape. The agency aims to enter a second phase of collaboration with Netflix, which will integrate Netflix’s ad-tier census data with OzTAM’s measurement framework to enhance its VOZ Total TV currency. This would allow advertisers and agencies to plan and buy media using one unified data set covering FTA, BVoD, and streaming services like Netflix.
The end goal is to allow streaming data to sit alongside traditional TV metrics, enabling streamlined media planning and buying across all video platforms.
Heidi Monro, Senior Manager of Advertising Sales at Netflix, said, “Netflix has led the streaming entertainment industry on viewing transparency for a number of years now, including our Top 10 Weekly lists and Engagement Reports, but we think now is the time to go further in Australia. We’re pleased to be partnering with OzTAM to make a commitment to its trusted measurement of how people watch television in Australia.”
The announcement comes amid a wave of change at OzTAM. In recent years, the company has spearheaded the launch of VOZ Total TV as the official trading currency, introduced VOZ Streaming, expanded the use of Streaming TV Meters, and initiated proof-of-concept projects exploring the integration of big data.
These efforts highlight OzTAM’s ambition to modernize audience measurement in Australia, creating a more inclusive and advertiser-ready system. Industry experts see this as a critical move toward leveling the playing field between traditional broadcasters and streaming giants. OzTAM also used the announcement to invite other streaming platforms in Australia to join the initiative, promoting an industry-wide shift toward collaborative and standardized measurement. By being the first to step into this new framework, Netflix not only boosts its credibility among advertisers but also pressures competitors to follow suit. The partnership signals a new era where Total Video planning could become the norm, benefiting marketers, platforms, and viewers alike.