TVRs vs. Impressions

Let's decode the jargon in usage figures!

It's time to shed some light on a couple of terms you've probably come across: TVRs and impressions.

These two concepts play a vital role in determining the usage fee for commercials in the voiceover business.

So, let's break it down.
What are TVRs?
TVRs, or television ratings, are a way to measure the popularity and reach of a commercial on traditional television. Think of it as a fancy-sounding number that tells you how many people potentially saw your commercial – it’s based on the proportion of the target audience reached by the ad. For example, a TVR of 10% means that 10% of the target audience saw the commercial. The higher the TVR, the more eyeballs your ad captured.
If they’re based on a percentage, why is the figure over 100?
Each time the commercial is shown the percentage figure is calculated. Those percentages are added up for each repeat broadcast in the campaign which means the total TVR figure can be over 100.
What are commercial impressions?
On the other hand, we have impressions. Impressions are all about the digital world, specifically Video on Demand (VOD) platforms. When your commercial is viewed on platforms like YouTube, streaming services, or websites, each view counts as one impression. So, if your commercial has 10,000 impressions, it means it was viewed by 10,000 people. Simple, right?
How do I convert TVRs to impressions?
To convert TVRs to impressions, start by figuring out the total number of people in your target audience. Multiply this number by the TVR percentage (in decimal form) to get the estimated impressions. Let's break it down with an example: if your target audience is 1 million and your TVR is 10%, you can expect around 100,000 impressions.
How do I convert impressions to TVRs?
If you’re converting impressions to TVRs based on broadcasting nationally in the UK, you need to know your potential audience size. 100% of your adult audience in the UK is 49 million. So 1% of your audience (or 1 TVR) is 490,000. This means to convert your impressions to TVRs you divide the total number of impressions by 490,000, then round up to the nearest whole TVR.
So, there you have it, folks! TVRs and impressions, demystified. Now you're armed with the knowledge to confidently calculate usage fees based on these metrics. We’re happy to do the maths for you as well as provide a casting page with suitable voices for your project so drop us a line with your voice brief and we’ll be happy to help.