2. History of Audience Measurement
• Audience research first
began in the 1920s
• Early announcers would ask
listeners to send in
postcards, telling if the
station was clear sounding,
what were their favorite
programs
• Station owners wanted to
know who was listening to
their stations
3. History of Audience Measurement
• Cooperative Analysis of
Broadcasting was formed in
1930
• CAB collected listening data
using the telephone recall
method
• Random calls to ask listeners
what they were listening to
• Human memory is unreliable
- recall tests are flawed
4. History of Audience Measurement
• 1946: C.E. Hooper company used
the telephone coincidental method:
listeners were asked what they
were listening to right at that
moment
• 1942: Neilsen used the audimeter, a
mechanical device that collected
listening data
• Neilsen measured use; the
audimeter only measured if the
radio was on or off, not what was
being listened to, or if anyone was
in the room listening
• Advertisers preferred Neilsen, they
eventually bought out Hooperatings
5. History of Audience Measurement
• In the 1950s, the audimeter was
utilized to measure TV use
• Neilsen created two reports: Neilsen
Television Index (NTI), measured
viewership of network programs;
Neilsen Station Index (NSI), measured
viewership for local markets
• 1949: Arbitron begins collecting data
• Arbitron utilized the diary method,
which collected usage data as well as
demographic information
• Soon Neilsen started using diaries as
well, and Arbitron introduced its own
version of the audimeter in the 1960s
6. History of Audience Measurement
• By 1963 Neilsen stopped monitoring
radio, and exclusively monitors
television; Arbitron became the
dominant company for radio ratings
• Neilsen improved the audimeter
technology with the Storage
Instantaneous Audimeter (SIA),
allowed data to be retrieved as quickly
as the following day after broadcast
• People Meter: manufactured by AGB
Television Research, people meters
could gather individual users' watching
habits. System was expensive, not
widely used.
7. History of Audience Measurement
• By 1993 Arbitron
abandoned tv ratings,
exclusively rates radio
today
• MediaMetrix and
Neilsen//NetRatings
measure internet
audiences
8. The Ratings Process
Measuring TV Viewing
• Neilsen 101
• First Neilsen selects households at random to
participate in ratings gathering
• The national sample is determined by
selecting at random 6,000 small geographic
areas -- next, a sample of 5,100 households
are drawn at random, and contacted to
participate
9. The Ratings Process
Measuring TV Viewing
• For local market ratings, Neilsen divides markets by
population, and surveys the top 200 (Buffalo is #51,
Rochester is #80, Batavia is not a separate market, it's
part of Rochester)
• In smaller markets, Neilsen uses People Meters plus a
diary system. Sample sizes in these markets are usually
1,000 - 2,000 households.
• Surveys are conducted 4 times a year (called sweeps)
where data gathered will eventually translate to setting
advertising rates (based on audience ratings and share)
10. The Ratings Process
Measuring TV Viewing
• Neilsen is using LPMs (local people meter) in
larger markets, eliminating the need for
additional diary information
• Data from LPMs are available immediately,
would eliminate the traditional 4x/year ratings
books
• Neilsen is also making plans to monitor
handheld device content usage
11. Processing the Data
• Data from People Meters are available
overnight, diary information takes longer to
compile
12. The Ratings Books
• The NTI contains data on the estimated
audience, divided into demographic
categories, for each network program
broadcast during the measurement period
• Also features a day-by-day comparison of the
audience for each major network, and an
audience estimate of cable, public
TV/independent, premium channels and DVR
viewing
13. The Ratings Books
NSI is more complicated; divides the market
into three areas:
1.Metro area (where most of the population
lives)
2.Designated Market Area, DMA (where the
stations in the market get most of their
viewers)
3.NSI area (which may overlap with other NSI
areas, but not DMAs)
14. The Ratings Books
• NSI also contains data reflecting the number of
homes in the sample and demographic
characteristics of the market
• notes about interruption in viewing (power
outages)
• audience estimates (broken down by time and
program - so a station manager can see how a
specific program is doing against it's competition,
how well it maintains audience flow)
15. Terms and concepts in TV Ratings
• Households using television (HUT) represents the
number or percentage of households that have a TV
set on during a specific time period
• Rating: the percentage or proportion of all households
with a TV set watching a particular program at a
particular time. Example: a rating of 10 means that 10
percent of all the homes in the market were watching
a specific program. Ratings consider all households in
the market
• Share: the total number of households watching a
particular program at a specific time divided by the
total number of households using TV. The share is
based only on those households that actually have
their TV sets turned on
16. Measuring radio listening
• Arbitron is the leading company that provides
radio ratings
• Uses the diary method, in some markets the
Personal People Meter
• Arbitron solicits participants using landline
phone numbers
• Sample sizes may range from 750 - 4500
17. Measuring radio listening
• Participants are sent diaries for each member
of the household
• Diaries cover a 1-week period beginning on a
Wednesday, asks users to list what they are
listening to for how long, and where.
• When the diary is completed, they are mailed
back to Arbitron
18. Processing the Data
• Once received by Arbitron, the diaries are subject
to several review procedures
• The first review removes diaries that are
considered unusable (late, illegible, missing
demographic information)
• The next review looks for inconsistent
information (reporting a station that doesn't
exist, incorrect call letters)
• Data is then entered into a computer for analysis
19. The Radio Ratings Book
• Similar to Neilsen reports; the first page contains data on
the market (metro area, DMA, total survey areas), then
general market statistics (number of automobiles, housing
values, retail sales data)
• Another section reports "stunting" or other extraordinary
promotions that could artificially create more listenership
• The next section contains demographic data organized by
daypart
• Other sections summarize total time spent listening,
where the listening occurred, and average audience size
per station by quarter hour estimates
• RADAR reports measure network listening (compiled from
over 50,000 radio listening diaries.
20. Terms and Concepts in Radio
Ratings
• The basic unit of measurement is different for
TV and radio; for TV the basic unit is
households, for radio it is the person
• Cume: an estimate of the total number of
different listeners who listen to a given station
at least once during the daypart under
consideration - a measurement of how many
different people listen at least once during the
week during the given daypart
21. Terms and Concepts in Radio
Ratings
• Average quarter hour persons (AQH)
estimates the average number of persons who
are listening to a station within a 15 minute
period. Calculated by dividing the estimated
number of listeners in a given time period by
the number of quarter hours (4) in that time
period
22. Accuracy of the Ratings
• The sample size Neilsen uses is only 0.0005%
• a sample doesn't have to be large, as long as it
is representative of the whole population
• Accuracy is expressed in the 95 percent
confidence interval - an interval calculated
from sample data that has a 95% chance of
actually including the population value (when
applied to sample data, this creates the
margin of error)
23. Accuracy of the Ratings
• Media Ratings Council: an organization that
periodically audits the practices of Neilsen and
Arbitron, to check on their methods and reports
• Nonreposonse bias refers to the samples that
need to be thrown out for inaccuracy, illegibility,
or failure to consistently report
• Social desirability response refers to those who
may lie on surveys to appear more refined and
educated
24. Uses for Ratings
• Setting rates for advertising time
• Determine programming trends
• Direct programming
25. Beyond Ratings: Other Audience Research
Music research
• Burnout: when listeners get tired of songs
• Call outs: when listeners are surveyed by
telephone, and asked to rate certain songs. They
will be played about 20 hooks and asked to rate
them (do they like the song, has it reached
burnout stage)
• Auditorium tests: gather a sample of 75-100
people in an auditorium for about 60-90 minutes
to evaluate both new and familiar music.
Auditorium tests can test over 300 songs
26. Market research
• Covers a wide variety of techniques used by broadcasting
and cable programmers to gain more knowledge about
their audiences and audience reaction to programs and
personalities
• Production reach: early response testing before a new
program is produced
• Concept testing: audiences are given a 1-2 paragraph
concept for a new program and report on whether or not
they would watch it
• Rough cut: a simple version of an ad (using minimal sets,
little editing, amateur actors and no special effects). Used
to generate a general sense about the direction and
approach of the planned ad.
27. Market research
• Electronic Response Indicators: used to test new ads
and programs. Respondents watch in an auditorium
equipped with a dial or series of buttons that indicate
likability
• Cable testing: a cable company recruits 500-600
viewers in a market, and are asked to watch
programming on a special test channel (not available
for other subscribers) and are surveyed on the
programming
• Focus groups: moderated group of people who are
asked specific questions about an ad or program,
usually paid.
28. Audience Segmentation Research
• Psychographic research: segments the audience
according to personality traits. Audiences report
their viewing/listening behaviors, as well as
rating their personalities (independentdependent, passive-aggressive, leader-follower,
etc.)
• Lifestyle surveys: VALS- values and lifestyle
segmentation. Advertisers use these studies to
develop campaigns consistent with the values
and orientations of their target audiences
