Nielsen says it screwed up fall ratings for networks in call with the press. #nyp
— Claire Atkinson (@claireatki) October 10, 2014Nielsen to restate TV ratings since August 18.
— Claire Atkinson (@claireatki) October 10, 2014Nielsen won't comment that it's only ABC that gained all the viewing@billcarter#nyp
— Claire Atkinson (@claireatki) October 10, 2014Nielsen to release the new numbers on Monday giving networks chance to see mistakes corrected. #nyp
— Claire Atkinson (@claireatki) October 10, 2014Here is the press release
NIELSEN STATEMENT REGARDING NETWORK RATINGS ATTRIBUTION
In response to recent ratings irregularities, Nielsen conducted an extensive internal investigation of our systems and processes. On Oct. 6, 2014, we uncovered a technical error that impacts national network television ratings over several months.
The technical error was introduced on March 2, 2014, and was generally imperceptible until we saw high viewing levels associated with fall season premiere week. As a result, small amounts of viewing for some national broadcast networks and syndicators were misattributed. Cable networks and local TV ratings were not affected by this error.
A software fix to correct the problem was deployed on Oct. 9, 2014, meaning that all data being released today and going forward is correct.
In addition,
All of the commercial data—including C3—for the current TV season, which will begin releasing this weekend, will be correct.
All previously released data since September 22nd will be reprocessed and reissued by Oct. 17, 2014.
We will also reprocess all of the impacted data going back to Aug. 18, 2014, when the first new season broadcast network program aired. This data will be reissued by Oct. 31, 2014.
Nielsen is also conducting an impact analysis to determine whether additional weeks should be reprocessed. We will work closely with our clients and the industry to provide updates as soon as possible.
This issue has to do with difficult-to-attribute content called “all other tuning with code” (AOT with code). This data represents between 0.1% and 0.25% of all viewing minutes that we credit nationally. In the vast majority of cases, the impact is small; in a handful of cases, the impact is more significant.
As part of our investigation, we have also determined that there are no issues with the National People Meter, our data collection process, our panel, our TV audience measurement methodology or the total TV viewership data produced during this affected period.
We are working closely with our clients to manage this situation and will continue to be transparent with the industry and the media about our plans. In addition, we will undertake an exhaustive post-mortem—internally and with our clients—and we are asking Ernst & Young and the MRC to join us in these efforts.
Nielsen is committed to upholding the highest standards of television audience measurement and data processing, in order to provide the most effective audience measurement solutions to meet client needs.
In response to recent ratings irregularities, Nielsen conducted an extensive internal investigation of our systems and processes. On Oct. 6, 2014, we uncovered a technical error that impacts national network television ratings over several months.
The technical error was introduced on March 2, 2014, and was generally imperceptible until we saw high viewing levels associated with fall season premiere week. As a result, small amounts of viewing for some national broadcast networks and syndicators were misattributed. Cable networks and local TV ratings were not affected by this error.
A software fix to correct the problem was deployed on Oct. 9, 2014, meaning that all data being released today and going forward is correct.
In addition,
All of the commercial data—including C3—for the current TV season, which will begin releasing this weekend, will be correct.
All previously released data since September 22nd will be reprocessed and reissued by Oct. 17, 2014.
We will also reprocess all of the impacted data going back to Aug. 18, 2014, when the first new season broadcast network program aired. This data will be reissued by Oct. 31, 2014.
Nielsen is also conducting an impact analysis to determine whether additional weeks should be reprocessed. We will work closely with our clients and the industry to provide updates as soon as possible.
This issue has to do with difficult-to-attribute content called “all other tuning with code” (AOT with code). This data represents between 0.1% and 0.25% of all viewing minutes that we credit nationally. In the vast majority of cases, the impact is small; in a handful of cases, the impact is more significant.
As part of our investigation, we have also determined that there are no issues with the National People Meter, our data collection process, our panel, our TV audience measurement methodology or the total TV viewership data produced during this affected period.
We are working closely with our clients to manage this situation and will continue to be transparent with the industry and the media about our plans. In addition, we will undertake an exhaustive post-mortem—internally and with our clients—and we are asking Ernst & Young and the MRC to join us in these efforts.
Nielsen is committed to upholding the highest standards of television audience measurement and data processing, in order to provide the most effective audience measurement solutions to meet client needs.
Source:
What the...?
ReplyDeletewhat the heck?? What a cluster.
ReplyDeleteunbelievable...well not really...
ReplyDeleteWhat?
ReplyDeleteIs that a joke? It's a joke, right? How does something like this happen????
ReplyDeletewow,
ReplyDeletethis is unacceptable
this news is gonna be a bad pr for nielsen
Revenge is actually doing 2s, The Flash premiered to 4.5 and FOX is currently winning the season in the 18-49 demos
ReplyDeleteThis may explain the ABC adjustments, which means... oh dear...
ReplyDeleteHa lol
ReplyDeleteI do suspect that not much will actually change that much
WHAT? My whole life has been a lie
ReplyDeleteMe either, but it's fun to play with it xD
ReplyDeleteCue all the fans of shows with bad ratings or that were canceled blaming it on Nielsen in 10,9,8....whoa whoa, you are wayyyy ahead of schedule fans.
ReplyDeletelol wut?
ReplyDeleteAnd Mulaney is a big hit.
ReplyDeleteHit and miss, for sure. Why not?
ReplyDeleteAfter the ratings are adjusted, Mulaney gets a 3.5 in the demo and its renewed for a second season.
ReplyDeleteGotham turns out to be doing 1.6s while Sleepy Hollow does 2.9s
And The 100 had actually done mid 1s last season.
ReplyDeleteAnd TGIT is actually a huge flop.
ReplyDeleteAre the networks still going to use the screwed up ratings when deciding what to cancel or not? If so that seems a bit unfair,
ReplyDeleteThe whole ABC line up does 1.5 in Thursdays avarage. AoS delivered a series high 5.0 last Tuesday and Nashville perked up at 2.5 following Black-ishs 3.7
ReplyDelete... O_O
ReplyDeleteThe ratings aren't likely to change much anyway, the mistake is mainly only in 0.05 range
ReplyDeleteCan't believe what I'm reading. Lets see what will come out of this. Some cancelations could happen.
ReplyDeleteSo if this was going on since March, is it possible some shows like The Tomorrow People really didn't get a fair share of ratings and got canceled from it? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteNielsen is a way outdated ratings method as it is.
Kicking SVU out of the curv, which now delivers low 1s. Also, Modern Family is hugely hurt by The 100 and now does low 2s
ReplyDeleteThe adjustments are probably extremely tiny lol
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile Reign is dominating thursday nights with 11 mil viewers
ReplyDeleteAnd nobody watches TBBT anymore.
ReplyDeleteReign stole Scandals viewers and demo, delivering an avarage of 10 million viewers and a 3.5 avarage
ReplyDeleteLOL, really this is so sad it is funny. TBH I don't expect the ratings to change that much
ReplyDeleteWell for a network like The CW even a .05 can mean the difference between cancellation and renewal.
ReplyDeleteLmao, if only it were true lol!
ReplyDeleteThey won't. People are freaking out and then watch them be almost exactly the same.
ReplyDeletehow bout, a glitch that deletes the Nielsen Ratings system and writes a new one that doesnt suck already?
ReplyDeleteI mean, I'm sure the adjustments will be small but it'd be hilarious to see the ratings MAJORLY shift
ReplyDeleteReign ruling theCW
The Flash premiering to a 0.4
Sleepy Hollow having Scandals ratings
TBBT having dropped to a 1.1
Supernatural leading tuesday nights with a 3.2
The Originals having a 0.1
Also, moving to Monday hurt The Big Bang Theory immensely as the premiere is 75% down from last fall.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, people are not watching the original episodes, but they are watching the re-runs. At 8PM TBBT does 1.2, but the rerun at 8:30 does a hugely insane 6.7
ReplyDeleteWell TTP wasn't doing that well on Wednesdays anyway, but it might have had some misreported Monday ratings. I don't know how big the adjustments will be, but probably not too much. It probably won't make any significant difference. And even if it does, it's too late to uncancel a show.
ReplyDeleteWow that's crazy! I would love to see a before and after of this!
ReplyDeleteAnd the reruns rate higher than the original episodes
ReplyDeleteamen to that
ReplyDeleteI heard the other networks are trying to emulate that success by moving original programming to summer. fall will be filled of reruns.
ReplyDeleteSo is the stuff released today good?
ReplyDeleteREIGN IS ACTUALLY THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!!!
ReplyDeleteITS NIELSENS FAWWWLRT!!!!
now summer will be full of new programming with no hiatus in sight networks and advertisers fear that they won't be able to produce 'original' reality shows anymore due to summer being overcrowded
ReplyDeleteThe Duck Dynasty stars already know who to blame: Satan
The finale of HIMYM did a 0.7
ReplyDeleteRevenge back to doing 3s, Gotham doing low 1s. TBBT repeats outrating the original episodes. The finale of OUAT in Wonderland did a 4.7
AoS did a 5.0, Forever a 3.2 and while The Voice does 1.3s The Blacklist does 8.6
Agents of SHIELD might be in a bit of trouble.
ReplyDeleteLittle worried now, tbh, but this thread is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteTry to convince the advertisers then.
ReplyDeleteGuys direct quote
ReplyDelete"Executives said 98% to 99% of ratings would not be affected by more than .05 of a ratings point." There won't be any dramatic chages lol
TTP's cancellation in favour of BatB's renewal was far beyond ratings - simply because the logic there was non-existent. I doubt this affected TTP - it wouldn't have been renewed even if Nielsen were right.
ReplyDeleteon a serious note: if we're in luck this might save Forever (doubt it tho)
ReplyDeleteThe joking around about Forever just depresses me even more.
ReplyDeletedon't forget that theCWs ratings in the past 5 years we messed up ROYALLY !
ReplyDeleteThey're actually the strongest network now, thanks to Reign
pssssshhhht! Don't give fans less reason to play fan-excuse bingo!
ReplyDeleterenewed straight for 5 seasons to hit syndication numbers and potentially become a successor to The Simpsons
ReplyDeleteIn reality Community was the BIGGEST hit in the past few years
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck?? I wonder how Bones will favor?
ReplyDeletebreaking news: Vampire Diaries FINALLY stabilizing after scoring mere 0.3s in the past
ReplyDeleteI wonder how CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and the CW are going to take this. This isn't necessarily the best of news to get on a Friday........:) I realize that the percent of total error is low but does anyone know which networks might be affected the most?
ReplyDeleteThese are shows that premiered or returned after March 2 whose ratings could have been misreported:
ReplyDelete-Resurrection
-Reckless
-Unforgettable
-Under the Dome
-Believe
-Crisis
-Friends with Better Lives
-Riot
-I Wanna Marry "Harry"
-24: Live Another Day
-The Night Shift
-Extant
-The 100
-Black Box
-Bad teacher
-Surviving Jack
-Gang Related
-Undateable
-Crossbones
WTF? I am really looking forward to what changes will be in the newly released ratings.
ReplyDeleteThe CW probably.
ReplyDeletegiven their adjustment luck as of late..:ABC
ReplyDeletemaybe, they're always the unlucky ones
ReplyDeleteInteresting: Revenge's ratings began to fall since March.
ReplyDeletePeople need to calm down. This is a big WTF situation but I really cannot imagine that the changes will be THAT big.
ReplyDeleteI feel like they've opened a HUGE Pandora's Box with this.Everyone is now literally holding on to the hope that their shows that did badly truly did better than reported andthat their shows that did well won't fall with the revised version. Don't even know what to think. All the ratings websites are going crazy right now.
Maybe they should have waited for Monday when they actually posted the corrections...
I predict Mondays to be a crazy day, although people are overblowing this I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list :) The 100 is the only one there that I watch
ReplyDeleteI don't see why it would only affect new shows? Or I am missing something?
ReplyDeletethey really should have, people WILL jump the gun
ReplyDeleteYeah they should have waited till Monday to announce this and then just posted the corrections right away. There's no way the adjustments will be that big. Now people will just spend the whole weekend speculating. I can't see the reason fir announcing it now.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you say so?
ReplyDeleteThis is a huge WTF news. Can't wait to see adjustments on next Monday.
ReplyDeleteI can see the hashtags already
ReplyDelete#saveBatBcuzNielsenf**kedup
#ReignrulesNielsen
I agree. Everyone is going CRAZY
ReplyDeleteflipped a coin
ReplyDeleteabout what? Ratings aren't going to change much. I'm only worried about twitter exploding
ReplyDeleteAccording to THR, the numbers are inflated for premiere week, and at Deadline " as much as 98% of all shows won't be affected by more than a .05 of a ratings point".
ReplyDeleteLOL this thread!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah posters should read the stories at Deadline and THR.
ReplyDeleteWell, all the other shows have aired episodes before March 2, which is the date that the error was introduced. The list I posted are shows that premiered after the error began, which means that all of their ratings might be terribly misreported. I hihgly doubt there will be any significant changes though, but could there really be shows that have been unjustly canceled or renewed?
ReplyDeletedon't forget last years SMASH HIT Betrayal actually outdelivered ANY ABC show
ReplyDeleteAnd Extant was a hit.
ReplyDeleteThese have to be some of the funniest comments on the site lol
ReplyDeleteYeah this article, no offense to spoiler tv is a little sensationalized.
ReplyDeleteI highly doubt so. Really I think at the end of the day, a few show will gain or loose a tenth and that will be it. Nothing major at all. That would be my guess.
ReplyDeleteBut my understanding is that this phenomenon affects all shows, not only new shows.
I agree Lol. I have been laughing a lot.
ReplyDeleteIt's not April is it? This seems like a giant prank or something. If it's true, I'd hate to be the poor worker that screwed the system up.
ReplyDeletewhat does this mean for the CW and Supernatural? *concerned worried look*
ReplyDeleteive seen reports that it could be adjusted down to the 0.4-0.5 range :O
ReplyDeleteYeah it would suck to be that worker lol. But the adjustments seem really small. In reality maybe a couple shows will be adjusted down a tenth and that's that.
ReplyDeleteWell, they couldn't have picked a worse/funnier time to screw up the ratings. Premiere week guys, really?
ReplyDeleteI doubt it'll change much, but with ratings being what they are these days, even a little adjustment can mean something, especially on the CW. For example, I'd love it if Reign adjusted up a tenth. And would feel very, very sad if it adjusted down.
What the heck, if I'm wishing for things, I want all my lower rated shows to go up by one. Arrow gets a 2.0, Flash gets a 2.8, Reign is 1.4, AoS is 2.6, Sleepy Hollow is ... whatever it is plus one, I'm too lazy to go look it up, but you get the idea. Make it happen, Nielsen!
P.S. Comments on this are cracking me up. :D
Hey Nielsen... (I wish!)
ReplyDeletethis better not screw up my fav. show
It puzzles me, that the TV industry still puts so much faith into such an outdated system to began with, so many different platforms to view programs, and they still rely on Nielson!!
ReplyDeleteSpoilerTV posted the press release so the sensationalist ones are the people at nielsen ratings
ReplyDeleteI know right, I haven't stopped laughing:)
ReplyDeleteNot really that surprising. When computers are gathering numbers there's bound to be a glitch at some point, I don't really think anyone's to blame, and I never put much stock in ratings anyway- I watch what I like, no matter how many others are tuning in. Luckily I'm not too invested in any 'bubble' shows anyway. Everything I watch is either already in or heading into it's final season (Sons, Justified, Parks & Rec), is picked up (Always Sunny, Louie) or are basically a sure thing to come back (Grey's, Scandal, Horror Story)
ReplyDeleteWhat I find odd is that Extant was viewed as a "failure", but if it had aired on any other network - any one - it would have been considered a solid success. Especially for summer.
ReplyDeleteI hope so. TV needs something different to match the times.
ReplyDeleteOr the opposite..
ReplyDeleteTrue.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they still use this system anyway? Granted I am Canadian so I'm pretty sure my tv and others know aren't counted in the stats but it seems like a faulty system if you ask me. Its not accounting for all the netflicks, DVR, downloads, itunes and online at the network websites that people are doing. Reality is times have changed and lots of people watch tv later on their own schedule instead of watching it when it airs. And no wonder stupid garbage like Two And A Half Men gets viewers it probably old people who fell asleep with their tv stuck on CBS lets be honest. I don't know I am just not nuts about this current ratings system especially after this mess up.
ReplyDeleteThese connards got Revolution cancelled?!
ReplyDeleteif the show was actually doing 1.5s instead of 1.3 and 1.1, then yeah, they did.
ReplyDeleteThis so remindes me of the German movie Free Rainer, a fired manager from a Nielsen-like company decides to change the ratings and switches the original boxes with his own, beeing able to steer which show gets good ratings. Suddenly all Talk Shows are beeing cancelled and highly educational tv is produced
ReplyDeleteI suspect it will be minor changes but god imagine if it was huge and shows got cancelled because of it that would truly rock the boat but I really think it will be small and most likely see shows adjust down rather than up which is going to be sad.
ReplyDeletePeople said something was up about ABC jumping so much in the final ratings.
ReplyDelete1- If ABC does have higher or lower adjustments, I'd like to note that commenters here and at TVBTN have been smarter than Nielsen. They recognized the trend first.
ReplyDelete2- Why did I read a below comment that Supernatural would possibly drop to the .4-.5 range? Was that a joke?
3-It looks like the networks would just forget Nielsen existed since they can TRACK US THROUGH DIGITAL MEDIA BOXES. Pick the state, pick the cable/satellite company, build an algorithm and have at it.
Pfft. Time Warner Cable and Direct TV know more about our personal choices than our families do.
The things about supernatural was a joke. The adjustments for any show will mostly likely be a tenth or 2 tenths at most.
ReplyDeleteWhat?. Well someone is gonna get fired.
ReplyDeleteWe cant even trust the ratings now. HOW?
Hey,+0.1 for BaTB means +25% ! That's what probably they meant in press release under " significant adjustment" lol
ReplyDeletecan't bring myself to hate The 100, even if I was sarcastic. The show is just WAY too out of the ordinary for theCW to get bashed, sarcastically or not ;)
ReplyDeleteI wish! But It would be nice if the spring ratings go a little up even if it's just a 0.1
ReplyDeleteSpoilerTV, new information please...........who the #3LL is "Nielson" anyway?! Nobody, 4 NOW!!!
ReplyDeleteAlmost impossible; the adjustments won't go beyond 0.5 if they get there. Most series will see an adjustment of merely one tenth if any
ReplyDeleteOMG this is pretty hysterical. I'm sure the adjustment isn't big at all, but the system is outdated and should be obsolete, so this mostly just amuses me.
ReplyDeleteGive up you dumb idiot executives at the Studios. Its freaking 2014 and majority of ppl are DVRing the shows and that's where the real ratings are! Stop following the Nielsen crap it's over no one cares who watches what and how many. If the internet had it's own rating system it would beat Nielsen Rating every the time.
ReplyDeleteGood shows were cancelled by this dumb system.
To be honest I found them to be stupid really.
ReplyDeleteHere here! No truer words have ever been spoken!
ReplyDeleteI would love if Community's ratings just sky rocket Jajajaja I hope this show the networks how outdated the Nielsen system is...
ReplyDeleteThere are better way to do it now, u know... with a misterious thing called "internet", maybe?... People say it's cool... I may check it out later...
The "panic" is funny, but overdone of course.
ReplyDeleteHow are ratings counted in Canada? Do you have a version of Nielsens or something else?
ReplyDeleteHA! Somehow, this makes me feel more...validated. "Score" for the poor genre, fan-driven, Nielson-challenged shows I've loved of yore...
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I also kinda don't care. Isn't the media uproar a little overblown?
Well said,
ReplyDeleteI take this as a joke, right?
ReplyDeleteIf some 18-49 demo (not viewers!) from other channels was shipped to ABC then I expect 0.05max upward adjustments for CW (if any). So may be at least SPN reclaims its initial 1.2 for premiere :) My hopes at least
I agree. 98-99% of the shows, according to variety should see an effect of no more than .05 of a point while some shows will see an impact.
ReplyDeleteWho will pay for our shows then?
ReplyDeleteSo is it possible that some shows that were canceled due to low ratings actually much better ratings? Is there a chance that some shows were truly canceled unfairly.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible but doubtful.
ReplyDeleteThe changes in ratings for most shows are only going to be roughly 0.05 according to TVline so not enough to really affect most broadcast networks (other then The CW).
Wow. Epic fail.
ReplyDeleteIf the internet had it's own rating system it beat the Nielsen Rating all the time lol.
ReplyDeleteThe network executives of the studios are the ones who pay for the shows. Take SyFy for instance. The network pays for a show to air and thus that show brings in money for the network. but the longer the show remains on air the more expensive it would get to keep on air which results in cancellation or a final season of lesser episode order.
ReplyDeleteNielsen Rating has nothing to do with the cost of shows.
Ha! Someone's in trouble. Let's hope it doesn't negatively effect shows I love.
ReplyDeleteNielsen ratings aren't for those who watch TV. It's for those who advertise on TV. Therefore, they don't care who is watching the show as much as they care who is watching the ads. Netflix and downloads don't show ads so those who hire Nielsen do not care about those viewers.
ReplyDeleteThat show does not bring in money for the network. It brings in advertisers who cover the cost of paying for the show. Thus is it the advertisers that are TV's customers, not those watching it. That's who Nielsen works for as well. Until consumers pay for the shows they want, in kind of a pick and pay system, the advertisers are the supreme client and the only ones who matter. As far as SyFy goes, they also get money from the cable companies but again advertising is their biggest revenue. However this mistake only affected network TV, which does not have that meager cable revenue stream.
ReplyDeleteThank you for realizing my mistake and correcting me .
ReplyDeleteThat's apart of my confusion on the Nielsens, who determines who get the boxes and, so many people watch Tv and buy products from advertising, but we're not measured, just a few select households, that's the part I find outdated more ppl should be able to be counted
ReplyDeleteSo what about the big 4 networks that depend on ad spots?
ReplyDeleteI'd hate for every tv show to depend on subscription. You might as well pirate them.
I agree. It must be challenging to figure out the true impact of all the other ways people watch shows, from an advertising perspective. I guess the method that would have the most impact (other than watching the shows live on TV) would be online streaming from the station's web-sites because those streams are always interrupted by ads, but I have no idea how many people actually stream this way. .
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the DVR'ing trend, I'm actually surprised that we don't get a lot more advertising via product placement in these shows. Apple seems to profit from this method a lot, but can't think of other examples. extremely but I don't see it as much other products. I also read somewhere that some advertisers design ads that prompt viewers to to stop VCR
its only half a ratings point so i doubt most shows will be affected.
ReplyDeleteThe methods of statistical probability are not washing powders or toothpastes, where there is a "new and more effective" one in every half a year. It's not a lottery, it's math. Now Nielsen numbers are measured with two digit accuracy and published with one digit.
ReplyDeleteStepping one level up would require a huge increase in raw data, a huge increase in costs, while the result would be that they could tell that the rating was not 2.1 but 2.08, which is in fact 2.084. Nobody would care about it.
How many households and what kind of households should they meter is not a "think of a random number" question, it is determined by the population and the subdivisions they meter. Just because people who don't know nothing about statistics are sure they could do it better, it doesn't make it true. Nielsen regularly changes its meter points according to the demography statistics, right because its their vital interest that their samples cover the most accurately the demography matrix of an area.
Even with this, these kind of fails can happen, but unlike some gloaters like to believe, the fact that they discovered the error and published it means that the core metering process is accurate. You can start looking for a problem when some numbers suddenly start behaving "not normal", too much away from their trend.
I liked see G Rated Vampire Dairies get Cancelled
ReplyDeleteReign is 90% Unfaithful to Mary, Queen of Scots
ReplyDeleteAnd then the viewers stormed the TV headquarters for their beloved talk shows didn't they? No one forces anybody to watch a certain kind of program, or to watch TV at all. The remote is the mightiest weapon and it's in the hand of all TV viewers. (Side note: I loved Discovery or History Channel when they were introduced and when I knew a lot less. Years later I realized that most of their programmes about the topics I really know are 20% BS, 70% theatrics and not more than 10% is correct information. I have the hunch that if it happened on two-three different fields, the rest is similar too.)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how is it in the USA, but here there are strict regulations about product placements which usually make it less favourable to the producers. OTOH I think the creative writers of a show and the marketing guys of a product not always can come to terms (to say the least). I remember some car product placements in White Collar and Glades - they were horribly executed, forced ones.
ReplyDeleteApple is in a unique situation and they exploit it very well. They have a very limited production range (practically one product of a kind) and a very distinctive design. At the very moment when they need to tell more than "this is an Apple product" they struggle too.
It could be topic of a good socio-psychology essay how people who (based on their comments) has absolutely no clue either about statistical methods or the purpose of Nielsen data haughtily declares the whole system outdated and false and it doesn't even occur to them that maybe the professionals of three complete industries (TV networks, marketing and advertising and survey-makers) are not complete idiots.
ReplyDeleteI think you are correct, I interpreted it too that all episodes (regardless of the show) on national broadcast networks can be affected.
ReplyDeleteI think the public impact will be very little, maybe one tenth up or down. The tricky thing is if it hadn't affected each channels the same way (like the suspicion that this was behind the ABC rating upticks), because if it happened from March, the season ending sweeps were also affected and through them the summer negotiations about the this season ad prices as well. If there were a solid bias towards any channel (very-very big IF!), then behind the curtains there can be serious financial issues.
You can't even see a 0.05 difference anywhere in the ratings, because those are rounded to one digit. If 0.05 makes a difference, that show has a rating around 0.1 - a sure and instant cancellation even on CW.
ReplyDeleteLove starting my day off with a laugh..thanks.
ReplyDeleteHaha same here with the dokus. In the movie kids and teens started to go outside....
ReplyDeleteI for one will readily admit I don't know the logistics of how the Nielsens are calculated, I only know that it's been around forever, with the data being calculated by humans, which peeked my interest as to how, the households are chosen, Thank you for your detailed answer, it helped clear things for me:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. Nielsen is next to the devil on every boards and portals which deal with TV, and often the channel executives are taling the easy path too, and blame them. It's easier to blame the messanger than blaming the viewers (who don't watch their shows or watch it on alternative devices, not caring about the channels revenue) or the advertisers, who don't want to pay the same money for a spot which is watched only half as many people than before.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of area where Nielsen's metering can be improved (the changes in demography itself requires a constant readjustment in the samples), but for the purpose which it serves (telling that how many people watches the ads during a TV show) it works pretty well.
Even the often blamed 18-49 age group isn't their idea - they measure a lot of other demography as well. This group is important to the advertisers because they are the ones who can be AFFECTED by the ad. In layman's term: if a grandma has 10 million dollars but buys the same shampoo for years (because that's the only one in which she trusts) than she is a worse audience than her college granddaughter, who has only 100 bucks, but tries all the new trendy things.
I think advertisers would be happy if more people watched shows through the station's streaming or places like Hulu. Then you get stuck watching the same ad over and over again. It's frustrating for me as a viewer. I'd rather watch different ads when I am marathoning so it usually drives me to watch somewhere else. Since those stats are measured by the site themselves, it doesn't make sense that Nielsen also count them. That info is already to the advertisers.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I see a lot of car product placement and about every single phone sold has been in a TV show at some point or another. Apple also appears to corner the marker, as you said. My favorite advertising ploy is actually when the show makes something that looks like an ad, but it is really part of the show. Then you definitely pay attention to the ads that come next for fear of missing something. The first time I saw that was Supernatural's Changing Channels episode. Also I have noticed that more car commercials star the actors of the show they are being placed in. This first happened with Burn Notice for me, but is also big on Teen Wolf these days.
Agreed. It is not all ratings as the post clearly shows.
ReplyDeleteProduct placement is a very small part in US TV as well. The White Collar (and for that matter all USA Netwok shows) product placement was as blatant as you can get and often stopped the show's momentum. It was horrible. Other ones can be clever. The one that made me laugh the most though was on Teen Wolf in the Visionary episode. They had a character holding up a Reese's peanut butter cup and had that character talk about perfect combinations while he did so, which was the old Reese's advertising line. I don't know how he did it with a straight face to be honest.
ReplyDeleteNielsen household numbers are based on a sample size that have shown to be accurate. Basically if the sample size is truly random then statistically it will have the same results whether there are 100,000 boxes or 100 million. The question then becomes, "Are the boxes given out at random?" Most people think yes although a handful disagree.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dahne of days
ReplyDelete