How do tv ratings work?

How Do TV Ratings Work?

• Answer:

  Collecting Data The Nielsen company has two main methods of gathering TV ratings. One is through diaries given out to participating TV viewers during "sweeps" months at four times during the year for a small amount of compensation. Once the subject agrees to fill out the diary, Nielsen takes note of certain demographic factors including age, income, location, number of viewers in the household and how many televisions are in the home. The viewer records the programs they view for a period of usually a week and mails the information back to Nielsen. The other method is through set-top meters connected to TV that keep track of what is being watched (and recorded if the viewer has a DVR) and, with their "people meters," which member of the household is viewing. In 2008, Nielsen made a deal with Charter Communications to take viewing data directly from cable/DVR boxes, though without demographic information, expanding the company's data-collecting methods. Analyzing Data The data from the set-top meters is sent back to Nielsen each night. It is processed and relayed to the networks the next morning. Local channels, broadcast networks and cable channels are all recorded, and viewing habits are recorded for each minute of TV viewing. With DVRs, Nielsen can also measure which programs are recorded and "time-shifted"---watched a day, a few days, or even a week later to add to the overnight ratings. Information from the diaries is collected and added as well. Delivering Data Nielsen contracts with TV networks to supply them with the audience research data. Ratings are measured in ratings points, or total viewers, which estimates the number of viewers based on the total number of TVs in the U.S. Ratings are also measured in shares, which is the percentage of all TVs being viewed at a certain time that are tuned to a particular program. The networks use those numbers to set advertising rates for their programs, see who is watching and when, and to make decisions on whether their programs are successful enough to remain on the air.