wearetheborg

Suppose that there are two shows, A and B both very popular, and both with 20M viewers who are the same (ie both shows are watched by the same people).

Suppose there is another show C with 5M viewers, but these viewers do not watch shows A or B.

Do Nielson ratings track this difference?
I would assume that A+C or B+C would be better for advertisers than A+B, as they are reaching out to a larger audience.

critterdvd

The nielsen ratings don't really work that way. The amount of viewers that watch an individual program do no matter to the networks and advertisers, but the percentage of individuals within the 18-48 age range - which is calcuated by finding out how many people between the ages of 18-48 who are watching TV at that moment watch that particular program. That is the number that advertisers are most interested in and how networks decided upon cancelations and renewals. And nielsen ratings are only relative to individual networks (ie a rating that would get a show renewed on NBC would could be instant cancelation for ABC or CBS).

Check out www.tvbythenumbers.com which is a great site dedicated to television ratings.

Obi-Wanma

Yeah, there's really no way of knowing numbers like that. And there's really one about 25,000 Nielsen boxes in the entire country. The numbers for these 25,000 homes are extrapolated to account for the rest of the population.

jacob_b

Damn is it really that low. Who knows if these popular shows are really that popular and the shows that have great word of mouth and get cancelled should really be axed at all.

SteveA

All I know is that the Nielson usually express the exact opposite of my viewing preferences. Shows I hate (Two-and-a-Half Men, NCIS, American Idol, any other reality show) are highly rated, and shows I love are low-rated or cancelled (Friday Night Lights, Fringe, Chuck, etc.)

wearetheborg

Same with me, and this what got me started on this line of thought. It seems the most popular shows would be watched by the same people, and it would be a waste for the advertisers to show the same commercials to the same people. It might be better for them to show commercials to "new" people, people who watch chuck/veronica mars etc.