Reply #19: Not quite

[Bluenorthwest]

That which is Tivo'd produces data that could be collected. But the majority of viewers do not tivo or dvr at this time, they watch what is on, and frankly, the ratings are misunderstood by viewers. The ratings are there to compare competitive segments on various outlets. It is the relative number that matters more than the actual count. The Neilsens exist to set prices for ad time. Those prices as set using comparisons to the competition in each slot. Tivo viewers skip commercials, which means they are not as valuable as viewers as the live watchers are.
As per your example, they could count the tivos, in a way, and you say there were lots of those viewers, but still the ratings sucked. You say the new time slot was 'bad'. So think about it. Tivo aside, the show was demoted due to low ratings, and moved to where it did less damage to the sale of ads. Because Tivo viewers were not enough to save the show. They had no numbers, so they exiled a losing product.