Word: nielsens
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...investigation started before I got here. The networks are blaming the dropoff on flaws in the way Nielsen measures the audience. They point to a discrepancy between the national figures and separate local ratings that Nielsen took in February...
Here's where it gets interesting, Diane. Nielsen used to depend on diaries and household meters to measure national viewership. But in September 1987 the company switched to people meters. These devices, currently in 4,000 homes, require every member of the household to push a button whenever he or she starts watching TV. Ad executives love people meters because they can tabulate exactly who is watching TV at any given time. But the networks don't trust the gadgets, mainly because they show fewer people are watching network TV than the old system...
Network researchers suggest that viewers are just getting tired of pushing those buttons. Crazier things have happened. In 1975 Nielsen showed another alarming drop in viewership. Turned out the problem was the glue attaching the meters to the TV set. As the sets heated up, the glue cracked and the meters disconnected...
...There have been a lot of false alarms in the past so people were less quick to respond to the fire alarm," said Jane H. Nielsen, a second year B-School student...
...keeping mum on whether the show will return next fall (a decision will be announced next Monday, when the fall schedule is unveiled). But recent signs are hopeful. Ratings for the past two weeks seem to have stabilized, and the show has settled in the middle of the Nielsen pack. Moreover, the audience includes a high proportion of young, upscale viewers, those most desired by advertisers...