How do TV cable networks know how many viewers watch a show? CBS just booted a show called "Smith" after its last run only succeeded in getting 8.1 million viewers to turn in to the channel at that time. I always wondered how TV networks measure the number of viewers at any given time for a particular channel.
Your answers would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Sajjad
2006-10-08 09:06:34 · 3 answers · asked by Sajjad 1 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Television
They sometimes do telephone surveys.
More usual is that the Nielsen survey company attaches a box to your TV sets. When you turn it on you have to push a button indicating which family member you are within 2 minutes of selecting a channel or it goes nuts and keeps blinking at you. They pay some piddling amount to people who go to that trouble (like giving a free lipstick to a teenage girl in the family). That is why there is a big turnover in families on Nielsen.
From those numbers that the box reports back to Nielsen they say the representative sample showed that so many people were watching such and such a show.
2006-10-08 09:13:51 · answer #1 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is the Nielson (not sure if that is spelled right) survey that people are randomly asked to fill out around the country. They send a packet and you send it back with the shows you watched filled out. I think they use this to estimate how many people watched a certain show. At least I think this is how it works.
2006-10-08 09:10:29 · answer #2 · answered by hphgrwd 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
meters are put into certain peoples homes and they can know what the general audience is watching. Only about 5000 homes have this monitor.. So they go off of that many people to guess.
2006-10-08 09:11:04 · answer #3 · answered by yournotalone 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋