I'm just so curious. I was just watching Inside Edition and they reported that 18 Million people watched Dancing With the Stars last night??? I mean since they didn't go to 18 million homes; just where do they get these numbers from?? Thanks.
2006-09-21 05:52:58 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Television
The Neelson's used to use random sampling to determine how many people were watching, basically they would ask people. Now a days the set top boxes actually send messages back to the cable companies to tell them exactly what people watch and when. (Little bit big-brotherish)
2006-09-21 05:58:14 · answer #1 · answered by Fire_God_69 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Big Brother is Watching! In every TV, there is a special monitor that records what is being viewed and then sends back the information. Its like that thing with cell phones where 'they' can always track you down if your using your phone. No Really, some homes have a box that records for the Nielsen agency and sometimes a polling company takes a survey. After enough participants (samples) are gathered, a projection of the % watching or number of people watching in a population can be made. It isn't accurate. That is why you'll see things like +/- 3 points or +/- 5%, etc. It is a projection based upon a sampling of a population.
2006-09-21 06:04:39 · answer #2 · answered by William T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's done by random sampling. One person or family gets a "diary" in the mail and writes down their viewing for a small payment. After mailing back in the diary after a certain time, all of the demographics are figured then the numbers are extrapolated out to that demographic (18-34 year old females, etc.) None of it is exact, of course, but it's fairly close since the ratings cos. Neilson, Arbitron, etc. are very particular to cover vast regions in order to be certain to be able to make a very educated guess. The very acurate is the in-home box that sits on top of one's TV and keeps track of viewing and channel-changing but these are very expensive and not widely used. Good Luck!
2006-09-21 06:02:54 · answer #3 · answered by stklotto 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They have scientifically selected random assortment of families with Neilson boxes attached to their tv. So their estimate that 18 million people watched that show is based on x % of the people with the ratings boxes.
2006-09-21 06:00:28 · answer #4 · answered by Crystal P 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-11-23 13:09:19 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They track ratings by the Nielsen System...
Check out their website it will tell you everything you want to know about how it works.
http://www.nielsenmedia.com
2006-09-21 06:04:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
From what I understand they can tell from the cable boxes. At least that's what I've been told.
2006-09-21 06:15:55 · answer #7 · answered by Marenight 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋