Roy Morgan Research
July 03, 2025

What does a media channel even look like today?

Topic: Press Release
Finding No: 9963

Today’s media environment is defined by an abundance of choice: the digital age has brought a proliferation of media channels such as streaming services, podcasts and brand-owned content platforms, to complement existing traditional mass reach platforms such as TV and radio. This proliferation gives audiences more control over what, when and how they consume content and that fundamentally changes how we need to think about reaching and engaging them.

Roy Morgan announces the release of a suite of enhanced media channel metrics and a smart, intuitive media budget allocation application that optimises campaign budgets across media channels for maximum impact.

Many newer channels boast huge audience numbers - think Netflix or Spotify, but the real question is how much of the audience can you actually reach with an ad? For example, a streaming service may reach millions, but if 80% are on ad-free plans, then the ad-addressable audience is much smaller. Roy Morgan’s new ad-addressable reach metric segments a channel’s total audience reach by those that can see advertising, to help planners make the most of their media budgets.

However, it’s not just how many people you can reach, it’s how often they return and how deeply they engage. Roy Morgan’s new quality-of-audience metrics - ‘Audience Loyalty’ and ‘Audience Engagement’ - assess the depth of relationship between the channel and the audience, and these insights empower marketers to plan based on actual audience behaviour.

To put these new metrics into action, Roy Morgan used its AI-powered WorkSpace platform to create a Media Budget Allocation application to automate the distribution of budget across media channels. The AI engine enables the selection of a target audience by searching over 100,000 ready-made consumer profiles using Roy Morgan Single Source, uploading 1st party data, or using Helix Personas.

For each media channel, the AI engine shows the target audience’s total and ad-addressable reach, ‘Loyalty’ and ‘Engagement’ performance, a recommended budget allocation and whether the allocation is above or below the industry average.

Weekly Total Reach – Media Channels and key sub-channels

Roy Morgan’s Chief Digital Officer Howard Seccombe says:

Block Quote

” Not only is the complexity of reaching valuable audiences increasing but reach alone is no longer enough – just getting in front of an audience doesn’t guarantee impact.

“Advertisers must now go beyond reach to earn attention and drive engagement.

“Roy Morgan has developed a new quality-of-audience metric called ‘Audience Engagement’, which goes beyond how many people a channel can reach, to how deeply the channel can connect with them.

“Audience engagement is driven by factors including content relevance, importance, shareability, personalisation and topics of interest.

“The role of advertising also changes by media channel, where channels that can deliver relevant and contextual advertising perform better.

When we embarked on this project, our media agency clients were really keen to understand the ad-addressable component of each channel, particularly for the newer streaming platforms.

“At the same time the concept of a simple, data-led application to help allocate media budgets was well received, especially when it challenged the status quo.

“There was also high demand for a range of quality-of-audience metrics to enable planners to make smarter investment decisions.

“And for many of our media owner clients these same metrics enabled the value of their audiences to really shine.

“We are pleased to launch Roy Morgan’s new Media Planning Tools.”

View the Media Allocation Engine Launch Webinar here.

For comments or more information please contact:

Howard Seccombe
Chief Digital Officer
Email:
howard.seccombe@roymorgan.com

Visit the Roy Morgan website to learn more about Roy Morgan WorkSpace

View the Roy Morgan WorkSpace™ Media Allocation Engine webinar here.

To arrange a briefing of Roy Morgan Workspace and the new Media Allocation Engine, call (+61) (3) 9629 6888 or email askroymorgan@roymorgan.com.

Unlock Data-Driven Insights with WorkSpace™

Roy Morgan WorkSpace™ empowers marketers with the tools needed to thrive in a competitive landscape. Backed by the voice of 1 million Australians, WorkSpace™ offers unparalleled access to consumer preferences, enabling you to craft marketing strategies that truly resonate. Its user-friendly platform ensures a seamless experience, allowing you to focus on what matters most: connecting with your audience. Backed by decades of consumer research and sophisticated analytical frameworks, WorkSpace™ supports your marketing goals, driving growth and enhancing brand loyalty. Discover how WorkSpace™ can transform your approach to marketing today.

About Roy Morgan

Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.

Margin of Error

The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.

Sample Size Percentage Estimate
40% – 60% 25% or 75% 10% or 90% 5% or 95%
1,000 ±3.0 ±2.7 ±1.9 ±1.3
5,000 ±1.4 ±1.2 ±0.8 ±0.6
7,500 ±1.1 ±1.0 ±0.7 ±0.5
10,000 ±1.0 ±0.9 ±0.6 ±0.4
20,000 ±0.7 ±0.6 ±0.4 ±0.3
50,000 ±0.4 ±0.4 ±0.3 ±0.2

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