What You Should Know About Nielsen Ratings

You're probably familiar with the idea of television "ratings". Ratings are a measurement of how many people are watching or listening to a particular program. They also specify what particular demographic are tuning in. Primarily, it is the Nielsen Rating system that networks and advertisers use to determine what's hot and what's not. But do you know specifically how the Nielsen's work? Once you hear this, you'll realize what a flawed system it is and it may upset you to know some of your favorite shows have been cancelled because of this defective marketing tool.

The Nielsen Ratings are calculated two ways. One is by the use of "Nielsen Boxes" that track the viewing habits of "Nielsen Families". These families are households that have a special machine hooked up to the backs of their televisions, tracking which programs are being watched. It can also tell at which point a specific program was turned off or changed to another channel. For example, a network can discover that halfway through one hour-long drama, many Americans are switching over to a sitcom for the last thirty minutes. This may prompt the network to change the scheduling of the drama.

The other way Nielsen Ratings are tallied is by the use of surveys. People are asked to keep a daily diary of the shows they are watching. This is the most extensive method used for Nielsen's research, as it is much less expensive than installing computers on the backs of televisions. Ever heard of "sweeps week"? You know, that time of year that all the really exciting episodes of your shows come on and they bust out the big name guest stars? Those are the weeks when the Nielsen diaries are being processed. The Nielsen people start with the diaries on the East Coast and "sweep" up the diaries across the nation.

So, that is how they collect their data. Some of you may be a Nielsen Family, but most likely you aren't. That is why each Nielsen Family must represent a very large portion of America: because the networks simply can't know what every person is watching. There in lies one of the many flaws of this system. A minority of the country are determining what is considered a hit and what will inevitably be cancelled. Doesn't seem hardly accurate or fair, does it?

There are many people who find this system flawed and inaccurate. For instance, take the whole "Nielsen Diary" program. Who's to say these people are being honest? Who's to say some seventeen year-old kid isn't going to log that he watched "The O.C." this week with ten of his buddies? It might be that kid's fault a critically acclaimed, excellent program playing at the same time as "The O.C." gets cancelled. And since the advent of digital television recorders, many people aren't even watching their favorite programs until later, at a more convenient time. (Nielsen boxes don't register things being Tivo'd!)

Ask yourself: how many Nielsen Families do you personally know? Well, according to Nielsen, you probably know plenty but they just haven't told you because they're sworn to secrecy. Right. Sure. Your closest friends in the world are really keeping this from you because it's such a state secret. No, you probably don't know a Nielsen Family. For all we know, the system is not only inaccurate, but it is rigged as well. The next time your favorite program gets cancelled, you'll now know why.