The Nielsen ratings system tracks the TV viewing habits of selected households in the US and other countries to determine ratings. Monitoring equipment is installed on TVs, and diaries are used to supplement information. Ratings are used by advertisers and content providers to tailor advertising and programming. Highly anticipated programs are aired during “sweep” weeks when Nielsen family members complete viewing diaries.
The Nielsen ratings system determines ratings by tracking the television viewing habits of thousands of households in the United States and more in other countries. These households are selected based on the degree to which they represent all television-watching households. The Nielsen organization has studied the overall population of television-watching households and determined what characteristics make them different from non-watching households. Then the organization selects households distributed across geographic locations in urban and rural areas so that the proportions in each area match the census data as closely as possible.
Heads of household that have agreed to participate in the Nielsen ratings system have monitoring equipment installed on televisions, VCRs, DVD players, satellite dishes, digital video recorders, and cable boxes. Another type of counter, which has a button for each family member and guest, is used to let the Nielsen ratings system know who is watching television at any given time. The meters are used to monitor when a television is turned on and what channel it is tuned to, and this information is then automatically transmitted to the Nielsen organization.
Information is supplemented through the occasional use of diaries in which family members note what they saw and when. Diaries are also sent to other viewers, who record their viewing habits for one week of the year.
The rating system is a method of determining how many households have their televisions tuned to a specific program at a specific time. It does not determine whether a television show is good or bad; instead, the system provides data on who watches the show and for how long. These ratings are often used by television advertisers and the television production industry at large to track the popularity of various programs.
The Nielsen ratings system is important because it lets advertisers and content providers know which shows are popular with which types of people. This information allows them to tailor advertising delivery to certain populations, saving money for advertisers and increasing revenue for content providers. If an advertiser pays for airtime during a specific program and that program does not have a high enough rating, the advertiser may decide to withdraw its advertising. To try to prevent this loss of revenue, the television content provider may move the program to a time slot that could provide more viewers or take it off the air.
In another attempt to improve ratings, content providers air highly anticipated programs during the “sweep” weeks of November, February, May and July each year. These times are important because it is when Nielsen family members complete the weekly viewing diaries provided to them by the Nielsen organization. These diaries provide insight into how many and what types of people watch each TV show, so this information is highly valued by content providers and advertisers alike.
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