How the hell do they figure out TV ratings?

[NFS4]

I think it's called the Neilson rating system or some crap like that. How the hell do they figure it out? I mean, Friends can be on on Thursday night, then Friday afternoon they'll come up with some crap like:

Friends was watched by 18 million viewers and scored a 9 share with females 18-41 and other bullcrap like that.

1) How do they know if a female or male is watching the TV
2) How can they get figures when people are using cable, satellite, and antennas

 

[conjur]

Based on carefully selected viewers and monitoring their usage w/devices.

At least I guess that's how they do it.


Nielsen FAQ

 

[StormRider]

Originally posted by: conjur
Based on carefully selected viewers and monitoring their usage w/devices.

At least I guess that's how they do it.

That's how I understand it to work too.

 

[Haircut]

They have a few thousand people selected from various demographics who record what they watch and then the TV companies can use these figures to get reasonably accurate viewing numbers.

That's the method they use in England anyway, I guess it would be similar on your side of the pond.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I've gotten a Neilson thing before. Kinda a big pain in the ass.

It's like a log book. But hey, they send you $3 cash

 

[FrustratedUser]

Every TV has a small black box inside and transmitts what we view.






Not.

 

[Pr0Hawk]

The cable companies know and see all!

 

[Smolek]

How do you figure out the ratings?

Nielsen Media Research continually measures television viewing with a number of different samples all across the U.S. The first step is to develop representative samples. This must be done with a scientifically drawn random selection process. No volunteers can be accepted or the statistical accuracy of the sample would be in jeopardy.

Nationally, there are 5,000 television households in which electronic meters (called People Meters) are attached to every TV set, VCR, cable converter box, satellite dish or other video equipment in the home. The meters continually record all set tuning. In addition we ask each member of the household to let us know when they are watching by pressing a pre-assigned button on the People Meter which is also present. By matching this button activity to the demographic information (age/gender) we collect at the time the meters are installed, we can match the set tuning ? what is being watched ? with who is watching. All these data are transmitted to Nielsen Media Research?s computers where they are processed and released to our customers each day.

In addition to this national service, we have a slightly different metering system in 55 local markets. In each of those markets Nielsen Media Research gathers just the set-tuning information each day from more than 20,000 additional homes. We than process the data and release what we call "household ratings" daily. In this case we can report what channel or program is being watched, but we don?t have the "who" part of the picture. To gather that local demographic information, we periodically (at least 4 times per year) ask another group of people to participate in our diary surveys. For these estimates, we contact approximately 1 million homes each year and ask them to keep track of television viewing for one week, recording their TV viewing activity in a diary. This is done for all 210 television markets in the United States in November, February, May and July and is generally referred to as the "sweeps".

 

[trmiv]

Some Neilson families get the log books, some actually get a device hooked up to their TV. I did the Neilson log book thing once, it was neat at first, but got to be a pain recording all that stuff. Most of the time I would forget, and then fill it in later trying to remember what I watched.

 

[KokomoGST]

I've personally always wondered how a relative handful of people can be used to determine the sample despite the percentage distribution.
Percent error could be fairly high... I'm not gonna do the math.

 

[BSRaider]

Originally posted by: Pr0Hawk
The cable companies know and see all!

they truely truely do!

 

[Jombo]

Originally posted by: KokomoGST
I've personally always wondered how a relative handful of people can be used to determine the sample despite the percentage distribution. Percent error could be fairly high... I'm not gonna do the math.

statistics can be a very powerful thing. i sure as hell don't understand it, but it's pretty damn accurate even from a small sample base. of course the margin of error can be high if the sample is skewed, but supposedly these people have been doing the research for years on end, and have become the benchmark for many o ratings. (they even have one for the web, and are trusted by the industry.)

but the biggest thing about the rating of course for the marketers to determine how much the air time for the commercials will cost for the particular program.

on the second thought, a magical fairy comes up with a number and there we have it.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

I'm willing to bet that a person with a logbook or whatever watches TV differently from a normal person. The fact that you are being monitored would have a huge psychological impact.

 

[chiwawa626]

My friend told me his family was selected to be a nelson family and they put a box in his house that sees what their watching...

 

[DanTMWTMP]

very informative......now i knw...i always wondered...

 

[BatmanNate]

I used to be one of the priveleged few screwing up the stats. Nielson called me up one day, asked me like 200 questions, sent me a check for 50 bucks and hooked a box to our TV. In other news, the popularity of trading spaces has skyrocketed with with males in their early twenties... (my roomates had issues)

 

[morkinva]

faulty statistics

 

[Muadib]

Wow, some of you actually know one of the 5000 chosen by Neilson.:Q I didn't know they also did a log book type of thing. I really don't see the point of the log since it would take days before they got any info. With the level of technology today, it's pretty sad that this practice is still allowed to continue.

 

[ReiAyanami]

in russia, the TV watches you!

 

[chiwawa626]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
in russia, the TV watches you!

lol

my fav was

"in before the lock"

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: ReiAyanami
in russia, the TV watches you!

oh god...