In the US and in Canada, the company that tracks what viewers are watching for television networks is the Nielsen Company. They choose a representative sampling of about 5000 viewers who will allow Nielsen to record what programs they watch. This is a fairly small sampling of the US population, but people are chosen based on their ability to represent varied populations. For example Nielsen must a diverse sampling of viewers and some viewers who fall into differing age groups in order to get a representative sample.
This representative sample from Nielsen is then turned into a percentage representing viewership. Thus if 500 people watch Gray’s Anatomy weekly, Nielsen concludes that 10% of television viewers in all households watch the show. Shows are then ranked by numbers of viewers they garner each week.
People who participate in Nielsen Ratings programs are normally given monthly compensation for having their viewing habits tracked. This amount is relatively small, less than 50 US dollars (USD). Some people turn the money around to pay for their cable bills.
Each Nielsen participant is given a small black box, essentially a cable and modem that sends information about what the person or persons in the family are watching. In general, Nielsen only records what is being watched, and it is possible to have two programs in an hour count as “being watched” by television networks. If one watches one program for ten minutes and then switches to another program for ten straight minutes the data collected can become faulty in determining the popularity of programs on television networks.
Nielsen ratings do not always work because the population of representative viewers is so small. Some programs have been quickly axed by television networks for having a tiny viewing audience. However, write-in campaigns from loyal fans of the show can sometimes get a program back on the air.
With many shows now available on the Internet, the possibilities of tracking viewers have opened up. Television networks can definitely track how many people are willing to pay for, and download a show, and there are many networks that also offer shows for free with limited advertising. The number of downloads can be recorded by television networks and might influence decisions about keeping certain programs airing.
Cable companies might also track a viewer’s habits. For example, a cable company knows how many pay per view movies a household orders. Surveys of what people are watching may also help determine the popularity of a given show.
