2. What to do between now and 1 January 2027
Q2.1 What should I use to plan Q1 2027?
TAMS remains the official television currency until 31 December 2026. From end-October 2026, TVM test data will be available to allow the market to prepare for 2027 planning and reporting. TVM becomes the official industry currency from 1 January 2027. TAMS and TVM should not be trended or treated as a continuous series.
Q2.2 When can I start working with real TVM data?
Internal BRC and broadcaster testing runs from mid-October 2026, so that broadcasters can scrutinise the data before any wider release. A full month of October data is then released to the market from end-October 2026. The test data is real fused data — not a specification — and is intended for planning systems, trading templates, campaign post-analysis and reach curves to be updated and stress-tested before 1 January 2027.
Q2.3 Can I use the October–December test data for trading?
No. The test data is provided for system preparation, validation and training only. It is not certified currency data, it is not final, and it may not be used for trading, guarantees, campaign post-analysis of live campaigns, rate negotiation, or any public or client-facing audience claim. Figures drawn from it must be labelled as TVM test data and must not be presented as BRC currency numbers. TAMS remains the official trading currency until 31 December 2026; TVM currency data begins with the 1 January 2027 reporting day.
Q2.4 What should I do first?
- Confirm your software vendor. BRC software certification for TVM runs in Q4 2026, against V2.3 and the TVM test data, following the certification framework and readiness programme that opens in Q3 2026. Ask your current supplier whether they are participating, their TVM upgrade date, and how they will handle the test-data window.
- Nominate a TVM lead in your organisation. One named person to receive BRC updates, coordinate internal training, and interface with BRC on classifications (station and content on the broadcaster side; service identifiers on the platform side).
- Update your outputs. Trading templates, campaign post-analysis, reach curves, and slide libraries need to state the reporting level (Broadcaster Total TV or Total Video), the demographic base (e.g. 4+, 15–49), and the metric on every figure.
- Retire the phased-launch language. Any internal or external material that still refers to “Phase 1 linear-only” or “online mid-2027” should be corrected to “Full TVM at launch, 1 January 2027, with v2.0 broadcaster digital detail in mid-2027”.
Q2.5 Where do I get support and training?
BRC will run training sessions for the industry between September and December 2026, covering the rulebook, the new outputs, and hands-on work with the TVM test data. Dates and registration will be published on brcsa.org.za/tvm/ from early September. Participating software vendors run their own product training on top of the BRC sessions; ask your supplier for their schedule.
Q2.6 Where do I read more?
- BRC TVM Methodology — the plain-English guide to the panel, the fusion, the universes, and the outputs.
- BRC TVM Calculation and Reporting Rules — the mandatory rulebook for every published TVM figure.
- BRC TVM Glossary — definitions of every term used in this document.
- Executive Summary (1 page) — the top-line version of everything in this document, for people who want the headline only.
Q2.7 Who do I contact with a question that is not answered here?
E-mail office@brcsa.org.za. Every question is logged; recurring questions are folded back into this document at the next revision. This Q&A will be updated regularly in the run-up to launch and after 1 January 2027.
3. What TVM measures, and how it is reported
Q3.1 What screens and devices are in scope?
- Linear TV — live, on the TV set, via any distribution route.
- Time-shifted viewing (TSV) — recorded/DVR and catch-up viewing on the TV set (within the rulebook time window).
- Connected TV (cTV) on the big screen — streaming apps viewed on the TV set (SABC+, Showmax, YouTube on the TV, DStv Stream, Netflix, Disney+, etc.).
- Online video on personal devices — mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop viewing of BVOD, OTT/SVOD and social video (SABC+, Showmax, YouTube, TikTok, Disney+, Netflix and others in scope).
Q3.2 How is it reported? What are the two levels?
TVM provides two daily reporting levels from the same fused panel:
- Broadcaster Total TV — linear TV plus connected TV on the big screen, credited to the station/channel. This is the closest analogue to what TAMS currently reports, but wider (cTV on the TV set is now inside the number).
- Total Video — Broadcaster Total TV plus platform-level online video on personal devices. This is the full cross-screen view.
Both are published together, daily, from the same fused dataset, with the appropriate universe applied to each reporting level. You do not have to choose between them; both are in the dataset.
Q3.3 What metrics are reported?
The standard audience metrics include Rating (TVR), Reach, Average Audience, Viewing Time and derived measures such as GRPs, TARPs and Frequency. Share is produced at Broadcaster Total TV level only. The Calculation and Reporting Rules V2.3 specify which metrics are available at each reporting level and the applicable calculation rules.
Q3.4 How does the Share metric work under TVM?
Share expresses how a given audience segment (e.g. a channel, a platform, a programme, a daypart) is dividing viewing within a defined viewing universe over a defined period. Under Calculation and Reporting Rules V2.3, TVM produces Share at one reporting level only:
- Share of Broadcaster Total TV — a channel or platform’s share within linear plus connected-TV-on-the-big-screen viewing, calculated against the Broadcaster Total TV Total. This is the direct successor to the Share number the market uses today, extended for cTV on the TV set.
- Share is not produced at Total Video level. The Total Video Total is not stable across additions or removals of streaming platforms — adding a new platform (e.g. a third-party streamer) would mechanically shift every entity’s share without any change in observed viewing. For that reason, V2.3 restricts Share to Broadcaster Total TV level.
Constrained-universe Share is permitted for analysis — for example, share of viewing on the TV-set device only, or share within a specifically defined subset of platforms — provided the constraint is explicitly labelled on the output. Constrained shares may not be labelled or presented as “Total Video Share.” Rating, Reach, Frequency and Viewing Time are produced at both reporting levels; only Share is restricted.
Q3.5 What are the age bases?
The two reporting levels carry different reporting universes, and both must be stated on output. Broadcaster Total TV reports against individuals 4+ living in TV households, in line with international practice for TV audience measurement. Total Video reports against the wider universe that includes online-active individuals whose viewing sits in the Online panel, fused as specified in the rulebook. Standard demographic breakdowns are available (4–14, 15–24, 25–34, 35–49, 50+ and finer cuts as specified in the rulebook), together with LSM/SEM and province where the sample supports it. Universes are refreshed continuously from the Establishment Survey, so demographic bases reflect the current market rather than a fixed annual snapshot.
In practical terms: always state the reporting level and the base on every published figure (Broadcaster Total TV 4+, Total Video 15–49, etc.) — that is a rulebook requirement, not a stylistic preference.
Q3.6 How is time-shifted viewing handled?
Time-shifted viewing on the TV set (DVR and catch-up) is attributed back to the original broadcast within the rulebook time window — broadcast-centric attribution, consistent with the official currency and with the TVM Glossary. The exact windowing (same-day, next-day, +7, +28) and how consolidated viewing flows into the daily currency are specified in V2.3.
4. The panel and the methodology
Q4.1 What does the panel look like?
- TV panel — approximately 4,200 TV-panel homes with people meters, including router meters in approximately 25–30% of homes to capture connected TV viewing on the big screen. Households are recruited to reflect the ES universe on province, LSM, household composition, TV equipment, and pay/free reception mix.
- Online panel — approximately 2,000 individuals whose online video viewing on personal devices is metered directly. Recruited to reflect the ES universe of online-active individuals on age, gender, LSM, province and platform behaviour.
- Establishment Survey (ES) — refreshed continuously so the panel and universes track the market as it changes, rather than a one-off annual re-weight.
Q4.2 How are the TV and Online panels combined?
The two panels are fused daily into a single reporting panel at the individual level. Fusion matches respondents from the TV and Online panels on demographic and behavioural characteristics defined in the rulebook (age, gender, LSM/SEM, province, viewing intensity, platform familiarity, and other variables specified in V2.3), and produces a common respondent record used to publish Broadcaster Total TV and Total Video off the same base. Both reporting levels come out of the same daily fused dataset, weighted from the same continuously updated ES universe, with the appropriate reporting universe applied to each level. This is why they are not two competing numbers — they are two reporting cuts of one dataset.
Q4.3 Are household-level ratings still produced under TVM?
No. Under Calculation and Reporting Rules V2.3, household-level ratings and household-level reach are discontinued in the fused TV and online panel. Household weights are not maintained after digital fusion, aligning South Africa with comparable fused TV and digital services internationally. The individual is the primary and only reporting unit for TVM currency outputs.
Two things to note:
- Household characteristics — household size, presence of children, LSM, income band, and similar descriptors — remain available as individual-level target-group descriptors: each panel member carries their household’s attributes, and you can filter or break down individual-level ratings and reach on those attributes. What is not produced is a household-level rating or a household-level reach number.
- For anyone porting templates across from TAMS: household-level TVRs and household-level reach should be dropped from currency outputs. Where a household-level view is genuinely needed for internal analysis, treat it as a non-currency output and label it as such — not as a TVM figure.
The rulebook V2.3 specifies which metrics are published at which reporting level, and how they must be labelled on outputs. If a household-level number appears against the BRC currency, it is not a TVM output.
Q4.4 Why is there no back-trending against TAMS?
Because TVM is not a re-expression of TAMS on a new scale — it is a fresh baseline built off a new panel, new universes, a new fusion, and a wider scope. Any attempt to bridge TAMS numbers into TVM (or vice versa) would produce numbers that look continuous but are not comparable: the panel is different, the ES is refreshed continuously, cTV on the big screen is now inside the TV number, and online on personal devices did not exist in TAMS at all.
Practical implication: trend claims that cross 1 January 2027 (“channel X grew Y% year-on-year”) are not valid across the change. Trend claims within TAMS (through 31 December 2026) and within TVM (from 1 January 2027 onwards) remain valid. Historical TAMS data will continue to be accessible for archival and internal purposes; it just does not concatenate with TVM.
Q4.5 What is the v2.0 upgrade in mid-2027, in detail?
v2.0 adds broadcaster programme and episode-level detail on digital — the ability to report, for example, a specific SABC+ show’s digital audience the same way you can already report its linear audience on day one. It runs on the same fused panel and the same defined universes, so it is an upgrade to what is published, not a new currency. There is no re-baselining and no back-trending at v2.0. Certified software vendors update at the same time; the rulebook version will step from V2.3 to V2.4 with the v2.0 release, and the changes will be published in advance.
5. Online video: platform-level reporting at launch
Q5.1 What does “platform-level reporting” mean for online video at launch?
At launch, online video on personal devices is reported at platform level — i.e. total daily audience for SABC+ as a service, Showmax as a service, YouTube as a service, TikTok as a service, DStv Stream, Netflix, Disney+, etc. Programme and episode-level breakdowns on digital arrive with v2.0 in mid-2027. Linear TV, time-shifted viewing and cTV-on-the-big-screen are reported at programme and episode level from day one — the platform-level scope applies only to online on personal devices, only at launch.
Q5.2 Why platform-level at launch and not programme-level?
Programme-level reporting on digital requires standardised content metadata across every in-scope platform (title, series, episode, duration, ad-load state, live/VOD status), reconciled to a common ontology. That work is well progressed with broadcaster platforms but not yet complete across every third-party platform in scope. Rather than push the launch to wait for full metadata coverage, TVM publishes platform-level online at launch — which is a real, tradeable currency for cross-screen planning — and adds programme/episode digital detail at v2.0 when the metadata pipeline is fully certified.
Q5.3 What is in scope and what is not?
- In scope at launch: BVOD apps (SABC+, DStv Stream, eVOD, etc.), international OTT/SVOD (Netflix, Disney+, Showmax, Prime Video, Apple TV+, etc.), free ad-supported streaming, and social video where BRC has certified the measurement path (YouTube, TikTok, and others named in the certified-platform list).
- Not in scope at launch: out-of-home viewing on public screens, private user-generated video shared peer-to-peer, and any platform that is not on the certified-platform list at the time of publication.
Two different certifications are referred to in this document, and they are not the same thing. The certified-platform list records the online platforms whose measurement path BRC has certified, i.e. which services can be reported. The certified-vendor list (see Section 6) records the software vendors certified to publish TVM figures. Both are maintained on the BRC website and updated as new platforms and vendors complete certification.
Q5.4 How is BVOD and OTT reported alongside linear on the same programme?
At launch: linear + cTV-on-the-big-screen viewing of a broadcaster’s programme is reported at programme/episode level (Broadcaster Total TV); the same broadcaster’s BVOD audience on personal devices is reported at platform level (Total Video). From v2.0, the BVOD portion also lands at programme/episode level, so a single programme has a fully cross-screen programme-level number.
These two figures are not equivalent units and may not be added together: one is the audience for a specific programme, the other is the audience for an entire service. Summing them would overstate the programme’s cross-screen audience. Until v2.0 lands, report them side by side, each clearly labelled with its reporting level and its unit of content. A genuine single cross-screen programme number becomes available at v2.0, when broadcaster programme and episode detail on digital is published.
Q5.5 How is social video (YouTube, TikTok) treated?
Social video is in scope where the platform is on the certified-platform list. It is reported at platform level at launch (total YouTube audience, total TikTok audience on personal devices, within the reporting universe and time window). Programme/episode-level reporting on social platforms is not part of the v2.0 upgrade and is not currently on the TVM roadmap; BRC and the technical committee will review the case for extending programme-level to social platforms after v2.0 lands. Advertising reach on social is out of scope for TVM (see Section 6).
6. What BRC is, and what BRC is not
Q6.1 What does BRC deliver?
BRC delivers the research and the data: the panels, the meters, the daily fused currency, the mandatory calculation and reporting rules, the Establishment Survey, and the certification of software vendors that publish TVM figures.
Q6.2 What does BRC not deliver?
- AdIntel. Advertising monitoring, occurrence tracking, spend estimation, creative capture and competitive reporting are not provided by BRC. Those services sit with commercial AdIntel providers in the market.
- A commercial go-to-market for the new data assets. BRC does not sell the data commercially, run buy-side or sell-side trading tools, or offer a subscription platform for the audience data. Access to TVM data flows through certified software vendors; the commercial layer sits with the market, not with BRC.
- Vendor lock-in. Any BRC-certified vendor can deliver TVM. If your current supplier is certified, they can serve TVM to you; if not, you can move to any certified alternative. The certified-vendor list is published on the BRC website as vendors complete certification in Q4 2026.
Q6.3 Why is BRC drawing this line?
BRC’s role is to provide a neutral, independently governed audience measurement currency that can be used consistently across the market. Commercial services built around that currency, including planning tools, trading platforms, AdIntel and custom analytics, are provided competitively by market participants. This separation supports transparency, choice, and confidence in the underlying currency.
