COM 110: Chapter 12

Ratings and Audience Feedback

Chapter 12

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

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

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

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

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.

History of Audience Measurement

• By 1993 Arbitron abandoned tv ratings, exclusively rates radio today

• MediaMetrix and Neilsen//NetRatings measure internet audiences

The Ratings ProcessMeasuring 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

The Ratings ProcessMeasuring 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)

The Ratings ProcessMeasuring 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

Processing the Data

• Data from People Meters are available overnight, diary information takes longer to compile

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

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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)

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

Uses for Ratings

• Setting rates for advertising time• Determine programming trends• Direct programming

Beyond Ratings: Other Audience ResearchMusic 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

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.

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.

Audience Segmentation Research

• Psychographic research: segments the audience according to personality traits. Audiences report their viewing/listening behaviors, as well as rating their personalities (independent-dependent, 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