The decline in free-to-air television audiences of recent years has been attributed to a tougher and more competitive environment brought about by video on demand and streaming services.
[11] From 27 December 2009, OzTAM and Regional TAM introduced time shift ratings, measuring viewers who watch a program within seven days of its first broadcast.
In October 2014, Australia became the third country to introduce Nielsen Twitter TV ratings, measuring reach and activity of television related discussions on the social media platform.
[14] In Australian media, the most common ratings metric reported publicly is total viewers of a program from all age groups.
However, advertisers typically prefer the viewership of demographic ranges based on the type of viewers they are seeking to promote their product to.
[16] The two national broadcasters, ABC TV and SBS One, typically attract fewer viewers than the three commercial networks due to their various public service obligations.
The following table lists the average shares for the survey period of the calendar year, for total viewers in the 5 metropolitan cities during primetime between 6pm and midnight.