Nielsen Ratings
As Nielsen Ratings is called the audience of American television . Nielsen Media Research USA is responsible for their measurement . The system was developed in the 1960s by Arthur C. Nielsen on the basis of Nielsen's decades of experience in radio research, so that the specific target group addressed through television advertising could be better analyzed.
Recording of TV ratings
Nielsen Media Research USA determines audience ratings in two ways:
- TV diaries ( survey ): Test persons record their viewing habits themselves. The television diary is used in rural areas of the USA because the electronic measurement cannot be refinanced there. Diaries have not been used in Germany since 1963, and in Austria since 1991.
- Electronic measurement: The “Nielsen Boxes” are in selected TV households. These small computers are connected to the TV and phone line. Every use of the television is registered and at night the data of the household (home unit) is transmitted as a data packet to Nielsen Media Research via the telephone line . This technology-based home unit system enables market researchers to study television habits to the minute, to see the exact time of the television program change or to switch off the television. In addition to the set measuring devices, individual display devices such as B. People tracking, which enables the company to break down household data into different demographic groups. Changed television habits influenced Nielsen's methods of market research. In 2005, Nielsen began measuring the usage of digital video recording devices such as TiVos . Initial results suggest that time-shift television will have a significant impact on television audience ratings. Due to the opposition of advertisers, the networks were not willing to pay for them in the phase of introduction, as higher quotas mean higher prices.
Performance values at Nielsen Ratings
The most frequently used performance values of the Nielsen survey are the two measurement parameters “ visual participation (average range)” (rating) and “market share” (share), collectively referred to as “ratings points / share”. The projection basis is the American television market. There are 119.6 million TV households (Nielsen's National Television Household Universe Estimates) in the USA in the 2017-18 TV season. Nielsen estimates the number of US television households for the next television year before the beginning of the television season in August. There are around 304.5 million people in US television households who are at least 2 years old. A national rating point corresponds to 1% of this total. In contrast, in the German-speaking area, the converted absolute values are used instead of percent (Germany: millions; Austria and Switzerland: thousands).
- Rating (viewing participation / average range)
- Percentage of those TV households in the USA that had selected a particular program during a specified period of time. Since there were around 112.8 million TV households in the USA in the 2006/2007 season, one percentage point corresponds to 1.128 million households. Although a "rating" is given in percent, it allows conclusions to be drawn about an absolute number.
- Share (market share)
- The share is the percentage of all households (HUT Households Using Television) or persons (PUT Persons Using Television) who have selected a certain program / channel or network / in a certain area at a specified time. In the German audience measurement, the “share” corresponds to the market share. Notation for quotas with market share - if Nielsen reports the value 4.4 / 8 for a program, for example, this means that 4.4% of the TV households (in the reference area) had switched on the device at the time of broadcast. Among these television-active households, the show achieved a market share of 8%. This means that this program ran in 8 out of 100 households. Note: Due to the complete TV panel coverage in the German-speaking countries, these broadcasting quotas are shown by default on the more precise person level.
Since quotas are extrapolated on the basis of (expensive) random samples, it is possible that a range of 0.0 is shown for programs even though they have an audience; an example of this was the CNBC talk show by former American tennis player John McEnroe . Another example is The CW show CW Now, which had zero-reach twice in the same TV season. In 2014, Nielsen reported that live television viewing time in the US (an average of four hours and 32 minutes per day) had decreased by 12 minutes per day compared to the previous year. Nielsen reported several reasons for the shift away from live TV: an increase in time-shift TV viewers (mainly through DVRs) and Internet video viewers (clips from video-sharing websites and streams of full-length TV shows).
Demography (target groups)
Nielsen Media Research also provides statistics on specific demographic data, as the prices of TV commercials are influenced by factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, income class and region. Younger viewers are viewed as more attractive to many products, while in some cases older and wealthier viewers are desired or female viewers are preferred over men. In general, the number of viewers aged 18–49 is more important than the total number of viewers. According to Advertising Age , ABC was able to charge $ 419,000 per commercial for the 2007-08 season when it ran around the television series Grey's Anatomy . In comparison, reached CBS with CSI: Vegas just a spot price of $ 248,000, although CSI average of nearly five million had more viewers. Because of its strength in young "demos" (audiences), NBC was able to charge almost three times as much for a commercial during Friends as CBS did for Murder Is Their Hobby , even though the two series ran during two seasons they ran simultaneously reached a similar number of viewers. Glee (on Fox ) and The Office (on NBC) drew fewer viewers than Navy CIS (on CBS) for the 2009-10 season , but earned an average of $ 272,694 and $ 213,617, respectively, compared to $ 150,708 for Navy CIS.
Sweeps (survey waves)
The US television measurement by Nielsen uses three different methodological approaches. The Local People Meter (LPM) is used to measure in the 25 TV markets with the highest sales (e.g. New York, Los Angeles). People register individually, the measurement takes place 365 days a year over 24 hours. Similar procedures are used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The SET-Meter (Diary & Electronic) is used in 31 smaller markets (such as Nashville, Salt Lake City). In four survey waves (sweeps) in February, May, July and November, target group data is collected with the diary and validated with the data from the devices (TV set on / off) in the participating households. In the 154 TV markets with the lowest sales (e.g. Harrisburg, PA or Honolulu), TV usage is only recorded using a diary survey. Four sweeps to collect viewer profiles (ViP for viewers in profiles) are common here.
Each year, during the sweeps waves of February, May, July and November, Nielsen processes about two million paper-printed diaries from households across the country. The term "sweeps" dates back to 1954, when Nielsen first started keeping diaries in households in the eastern United States; from there they would "sweep" (conquer) the west. For the survey, seven-day diaries or eight-day diaries for households with digital video recorders (DVRs) are sent to the participating households . During a sweep period, the diaries are sent to a different group of households each week. At the end of a sweep, the individual weeks are aggregated. The diary study data is the basis for programming and advertising decisions in the rural United States for local TV stations, cable systems, and advertisers. Usually, one orientates oneself on the results of the more busy months, the November, February and May sweeps. However, the July sweeps may also be important for summer programs. In principle, Honolulu, Fairbanks and Juneau are not included in the July wave. Since there is a demand for more extensive data in some medium-sized markets, “sweeps” are also made in October and January. The fact that daily measurement data is only available for 25 of the 210 TV markets in the USA shapes the American and thus the global television landscape. No US broadcaster would start a new production in months without a diary survey (sweeps).
Nielsen Sweeps 2016–2020 (survey months of the diary study) Season November February May July 2016-2017 October 27th - November 23rd, 2016 February 2 - March 1, 2017 April 27th - May 24th, 2017 June 29th - July 26th, 2017 2017-2018 October 26th - November 22nd, 2017 February 1 - February 28, 2018 April 26th - May 23rd, 2018 June 28th - July 23rd, 2018 2018-2019 October 25th - November 21st, 2018 January 31 - February 27, 2019 April 25th - May 22nd, 2019 June 27th - July 24th, 2019 2019-2020 October 31 - November 27, 2019 January 30th - February 26th, 2020 April 23 - May 20, 2020 June 25th - July 22nd, 2020
Criticism of the rating system
The assessment of the relevance of points of criticism must be made against the background of the American television research system. As a commercially oriented market research institute, Nielsen basically offers a set of very different methodological approaches to television research. Which ones are (can) actually used in a TV market ultimately depends on whether there are enough data buyers (broadcasters, agencies, etc.) willing to pay for refinancing.
There has been public criticism of the accuracy and possible bias within Nielsen's quota system. The procedure is out of date with regard to the measurement of new technologies such as smartphones , DVRs , tablet computers and internet streaming services. Since 2006, Nielsen has been working on revising its entire methodology to include all types of media use in the sample.
Since panelists are aware that they are part of the Nielsen sample, this could lead to a bias in media usage. The number of test persons recorded by means of diary entries is sometimes higher than that of the precisely electronically measured test persons.
Another point of criticism of the measurement system is that it is the most important criterion of a sample that random selection would not meet. Too small a part of the population is selected. Furthermore, only those who actually agree would be used as part of the sample. In the 1990s there was a discussion that in many rural areas the rating differences between individual programs were not statistically significant enough. Nevertheless, program makers decided on this basis whether series should be continued or not. This was particularly the case with Nova , a US television documentary series and Horizon , a BBC popular science television documentary series.
Broadest-reach programs (by household) in the US
The following table lists television shows in the United States with the highest average household rating for each television season. When interpreting the data, it should be noted that the survey methods have changed over the decades, the number of TV offers has increased enormously and that the TV set is no longer the only source of moving images.
| The program with the highest reach to date is highlighted in bold . | |
| Sports programs have ranges highlighted in italics . | |
| Two or more programs together have the same peak values in one season. | |
| The program with the longest winning streak in the Nielsen ratings based on number of consecutive TV seasons. |
| TV season | program | Network | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1951 | Texaco Star Theater | NBC | 61.6 |
| 1951-1952 | Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts | CBS | 53.8 |
| 1952-1953 | I love Lucy | 67.3 | |
| 1953-1954 | 58.8 | ||
| 1954-1955 | 49.3 | ||
| 1955-1956 | The $ 64,000 Question | 47.5 | |
| 1956-1957 | I love Lucy | 43.7 | |
| 1957-1958 | Gunsmoke | 43.1 | |
| 1958-1959 | 39.6 | ||
| 1959-1960 | 40.3 | ||
| 1960-1961 | 37.3 | ||
| 1961–1962 | Wagon train | NBC | 32.1 |
| 1962-1963 | The Beverly Hillbillies | CBS | 36.0 |
| 1963-1964 | 39.1 | ||
| 1964-1965 | Bonanza | NBC | 36.3 |
| 1965-1966 | 31.8 | ||
| 1966-1967 | 29.1 | ||
| 1967-1968 | The Andy Griffith Show | CBS | 27.6 |
| 1968-1969 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | NBC | 31.8 |
| 1969-1970 | 26.3 | ||
| 1970-1971 | Marcus Welby, MD | ABC | 29.6 |
| 1971-1972 | All in the family | CBS | 34.0 |
| 1972-1973 | 33.3 | ||
| 1973-1974 | 31.2 | ||
| 1974-1975 | 30.2 | ||
| 1975-1976 | 30.1 | ||
| 1976-1977 | Happy Days | ABC | 31.5 |
| 1977-1988 | Laverne & Shirley | 31.6 | |
| 1978-1979 | 30.5 | ||
| 1979-1980 | 60 minutes | CBS | 28.4 |
| 1980-1981 | Dallas | 34.5 | |
| 1981-1982 | 28.4 | ||
| 1982-1983 | 60 minutes | 25.5 | |
| 1983-1984 | Dallas | 25.7 | |
| 1984-1985 | Dynasty (Denver Clan) | ABC | 25.0 |
| 1985-1986 | The Cosby Show | NBC | 33.7 |
| 1986-1987 | 34.9 | ||
| 1987-1988 | 27.8 | ||
| 1988-1989 | 25.6 | ||
| 1989-1990 | 23.1 | ||
| 1989-1990 | Roseanne | ABC | |
| 1990-1991 | Cheers | NBC | 21.3 |
| 1991-1992 | 60 minutes | CBS | 21.9 |
| 1992-1993 | |||
| 1993-1994 | 20.9 | ||
| 1994-1995 | His field | NBC | 20.6 |
| 1995-1996 | ER (Emergency Room) | 22.0 | |
| 1996-1997 | 21.2 | ||
| 1997-1998 | His field | 21.7 | |
| 1998-1999 | HE | 17.8 | |
| 1999-2000 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? —Tuesdays | ABC | 18.6 |
| 2000-2001 | Survivor: The Australian Outback | CBS | 17.4 |
| 2001-2002 | Friends | NBC | 15.0 |
| 2002-2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | CBS | 16.3 |
| 2003-2004 | 15.9 | ||
| 2004-2005 | 16.5 | ||
| 2005-2006 | American Idol - Tuesday | Fox | 17.6 |
| 2006-2007 | American Idol —Wednesday | 17.3 | |
| 2007-2008 | American Idol - Tuesday | 16.1 | |
| 2008-2009 | American Idol —Wednesday | 15.1 | |
| 2009-2010 | American Idol - Tuesday | 13.7 | |
| 2010-2011 | American Idol —Wednesday | 14.5 | |
| 2011–2012 | NBC Sunday Night Football | NBC | 12.4 |
| 2012-2013 | NCIS (Navy CIS) | CBS | 13.5 |
| 2013-2014 | Sunday Night Football | NBC | 12.6 |
| NCIS (Navy CIS) | CBS | ||
| 2014-2015 | Sunday Night Football | NBC | 12.3 |
| 2015-2016 | NCIS (Navy CIS) | CBS | 12.8 |
| 2016-2017 | The Big Bang Theory | 11.5 | |
| 2017-2018 | The Big Bang Theory | 11.1 | |
| 2018-2019 | Sunday Night Football | NBC | 10.9 |
Total reach of US TV networks by years
Average daily range total / Nielsen measurement / excluding certain digital networks and cable networks not measured by Nielsen.
| Rank (2018) |
Network | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number 1 | NBC | 7,876,000 | 7,284,000 | 8,426,000 | 7,757,000 | 8,264,000 |
| No. 2 | CBS | 7,385,000 | 7,996,000 | 8,814,000 | 9,419,000 | 9,375,000 |
| No. 3 | ABC | 5,423,000 | 5,592,000 | 6,325,000 | 6,894,000 | 6,838,000 |
| No. 4 | FOX | 4,401,000 | 4,733,000 | 5,053,000 | 5,198,000 | 5,973,000 |
Web links
- Nielsen Media Research website (English / Spanish)
- Nielsen Media Research's Glossary for media research terms
- Nielsen Local TV View: Glossary
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nielsen Estimates 119.6 Million TV Homes In The US For Thr 2017-18 TV Season. The Nielsen Company, August 25, 2017, accessed November 19, 2017 .
- ^ Nielsen Media Research's Glossary of Media Terms. The Nielsen Company, accessed November 19, 2017 (Glossary Search for Rating / Rating Point ).
- ^ Nielsen Local TV View Glossary 2014. (PDF) The Nielsen Company, accessed November 30, 2017 .
- ^ Nielsen Media Research's Glossary of Media Terms. The Nielsen Company, accessed November 27, 2017 (Glossary Search for Share ).
- ^ The Futon Critic Staff (TFC): Frequently Asked Questions About Nielsen Ratings. . September 19, 2010. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ↑ Lisa de Moraes: Where's the Love? CNBC Scrambles to Woo Viewers for 'McEnroe' (s) . In: The Washington Post , August 13, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
- ↑ Nielsen trends: Total audience measurement . December 8, 2017.
- ↑ a b Michael Storey: THE TV COLUMN: Not in 18–49 age group? TV execs write you off (English) . In: Arkansas Democrat Gazette , April 23, 2009. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
- ↑ Rosario Santiago: For Advertising Purposes, 'Grey's Anatomy' May Well be Colored Green . October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- ↑ Brian Steinberg: Simon Who? 'Idol' Spots Still Priciest in Prime Time . In: Advertising Age , October 18, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 17.
- ↑ a b Local Measurement: Methodology. LPM, SET meter, diary only. . Nielsen - Client Knowledge Service Team. Retrieved December 19, 17.
- ↑ Television Measurement | TV ratings . Nielsen. Retrieved December 20, 17.
- ^ For the TV Station Business, Sweeps Stakes Are Still High . In: Broadcasting & Cablepublisher , NewBay Media, February 17, 2014, p. 34.
- ↑ a b Nielsen Media Research's Glossary of Media Terms. (No longer available online.) The Nielsen Company, archived from the original on November 18, 2014 ; Retrieved December 20, 2017 (Glossary Search for Sweeps ). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Alan Parchament: Summertime, when the leaving is easy to figure out . In: The Buffalo News , BH Media Group, LLC , August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ↑ Local Survey Dates for the 2016–2017 Television Season. . Nielsen. Retrieved December 20, 17.
- ^ Tony Maglio: Nielsen Calls for TV Ratings Overhaul in Response to Digital, Streaming Viewing Habits. Company offers to count streaming video on demand numbers and dynamic ads. . thewrap.com. November 13, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
- ↑ Alex McNeil: Total Television. 4th edition. Penguin Books , New York City, New York 1996, ISBN 0-14-024916-8 , pp. 1143-1161 .
- ↑ 2003-04 Season To Date Program Rankings from September 22, 2003 through May 30, 2004 . June 2, 2004. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ Tim Brooks, Earle Marsh: The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946 – present. Ballantine Books, New York City, New York 2007, ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4 , pp. 1679-1698 .
- ^ Nellie Andreeva: Full 2010-11 Season Series Rankers . Mail.com Media. May 27, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ↑ Tim Brooks: Top-Rated Programs by Season (2007-Present) . October 28, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ↑ Michael Schneider: Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2018's Winners and Losers. In: indiewire.com. December 28, 2017, accessed September 20, 2019 .
- ↑ Michael Schneider: Highest Network Ratings of 2017: Most Watched Winners & Losers. In: indiewire.com. December 28, 2017, accessed September 20, 2019 .
- ^ Michael Schneider: Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2016's Winners and Losers. In: indiewire.com. December 27, 2016, accessed December 28, 2017 .
- ^ A b Michael Schneider: Most Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2015's Winners and Losers. In: tvinsider.com. December 28, 2015, accessed December 28, 2017 .
