I have a question for some people here...

[QueenOfCalifornia]

Over the years here, a common theme is to tell other DUers that if they watch anything that is not PBS News or BBC News that they are somehow supporting the MSM by upping their ratings.

Just so you know, this is not true unless you are a Nielson family. Got it? The ONLY way to effect the ratings of a program is by being a Nielson Family Member. No one, not anyone, knows what you are watching unless you report to the Nielson ratings.

Television ratings are determined by just 5000 households. This sample represents the television viewing habits over 270,000,000 Americans.

Also - When someone posts an OP here that says they saw something on a particular program, why is it that it only takes about 5 seconds for someone to say one of the following:

A) Why do you watch that crap? You are just increasing their ratings!

B) I NEVER watch TV news. In fact I do not own a TV. People who watch TV should be_________________. (fill in the blank.)

C) Watching _____________________ is a giant waste of time.

Now... Allow me to tell you why I watch a variety of news programs; I watch so I know what is being told to the average person who maybe watches 30 minutes of news a day. I watch so I can catch the B.S. as it blows past me. Sometimes I even want to post about some of the crap that I may have seen or heard ---

Okay... My work here is done. :D

[AndrewP]

1. Watch anything you want. Doesn't matter to me personally.

Just beware that most of it will be inane drivel.

[Deep13]

2. And what was your question? nt

[QueenOfCalifornia]

5. Why?

I guess I left out the question... Ha! Why do people feel compelled to tell people all the stuff I said up there^

[amdezurik]

8. no, what you "left out"

is any support for your initial assertion. Without that little piece you really have nothing.

[hlthe2b]

3. Blowin in the wind, my dear Gilligan....

Even the Professor couldn't change this DU pattern... ;)

[AndyA]

4. Can't the cable companies with digital receivers track viewership?

I thought they could. They can tell which machines are tuned to a particular channel. It's how cable companies determine whether programming should be part of the basic package, expanded package, or a premium pay channel.

My cable box gets updated constantly with schedule changes, and I know the cable companies have the ability to monitor a particular cable box's performance, and send signals through that make changes to it internally. I would be very surprised if there wasn't a function that allowed them to track viewership, no doubt to sell to marketing companies.

But maybe not. :shrug:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

6. Nope.

Not even Tivo effects ratings.

[demobabe]

7. I don't think so.

If you have a satellite box, the satellite company knows what you are watching or DVRing...

How do I know this? They have an interactive channel that shows you "Top programs being watched on DirecTV right now" and you can see what is most popular at any given time.

Nielsens are just one rating system.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

11. Okay...

It is Nielson's ratings that advertisers use.

How do I know this?

I was a media buyer for an ad agency for 11 years. I wrote TV comedy for quite some time too. I had to know the ratings and what kept a show on the air and it is Nielson. The data usedby the AD agencies is directly from Nielson. Not from Cox Cable or Tivo or Time Warner.

5,000 sample families determine what show is renewed and who is cancelled.

Top shows being DVR'ed (In my case TIVO'ed) are not considered in ratings.

Google it. I am not trying to be argumentative but in this case, Nielson is still the gold standard accepted by the AD agencies who buy air time for their clients. Not the DVR community.

If the DVR community determined ratings, it may make a huge difference in a show being kept on the air - it could also mean more shows like live WWF and Dog the Bounty Hunter.

[Winterblues]

9. I don't believe that for one moment

Nielson Families don't report daily yet we get daily viewership reports from Media...

[JuniperLea]

10. I gave up trying to enlighten people on this issue...

When my kids were little, we were a Nielson Family... pre-box... written diary! It was a hoot... it's based on AQH, so I would purposely watch the first five minutes of something incredibly right wing or heinous by other means, then switch channels. At least that's how the diary read:)

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. There are ***some*** folks here

who think it is their duty to police my thoughts and opinions and actions - and to somehow conform them to some idealized image that they hold. I think of these folks as "secular preachers" and I give them just about as much credence as the pastor of the mega-church down the street. Both tend to be a little lacking in evidence to support their rhetoric and moralizing. Speaking generally of course.