Are The Nielsen Ratings Flawed?
Aug 12, 2015 03:14
Critics often argue that the way Nielsen gathers data for television ratings is behind times. Technological advancements have totally changed the landscape; now viewers are watching TV in a variety of ways, including mobile apps, they argue. In this article, I will look at how accurate the Nielsen data actually is.
The Millennials are the first to experience cable TV, the Internet, social media, and smartphones, so technology is fundamentally programmed into every Millennial’s gene. As television has progressed into a complex shape with the advancement in the Internet, mobile devices, and TV apps, Nielsen has remained abreast the changing technological landscape.
Nielsen’s collection of ratings takes into account majority of devices that TV can be watched on. Nielsen measurement services track whether you are watching your favorite TV show on your LED at home, on a smartphone app or on some website.
The company has even entered deals with several DirectTV companies to integrate their data into its People Metric data. Click here if you want to know more about DirectTV.
How Nielsen does this?
The company uses a wide range of rating collection and measurement tools and technologies to track what people are watching on TV, how they are watching and where they are watching.
• It monitors network signals to count mobile subscribers watching TV programs
• It evaluates cell phone bills of consumers to compute how much TV is being watched
• It uses on-device measurement tools to monitor TV apps usage
• It analyzes mobile carrier server logs to comprehend TV watching behavior on both feature phones and smartphones
• It surveys people who watch TV on mobile devices
• It itemizes cross-platform consumers across desktops, mobile devices, and apps
• It regularly tracks data of sites with smaller users
• It delivers all data on an immediate, regular basis
Without any doubts, Nielsen is a leader in the TV rating collection industry. It was the first company to introduce the idea of TV ratings and it has maintained its leadership to the digital era. What drives the company to come up with accurate figures, even in today’s digital age, is the philosophy of embracing change with an open heart.
The company has always accepted innovations and has in turn come up with innovative ways to count and collect figures to provide a true picture of TV ratings. The figures from Nielsen are so accurate that the company has now an across-the-board grip over the mobile devices and Internet generated TV market. In fact, they have the inmost understanding of how people use their digital devices and what channels they watch, how and when.
The company even enjoys patents for on-device meters, which allow them to fully monitor participating panels of digital subscribers. The company measures over 40 percent of the world’s television viewing behavior. So, the next time you see that great body spray ad while watching your favorite program via an app, never think that it was a coincidence; it was generated by big data Nielsen works on.
Nielsen uses the collected data to let companies know how and when to reach potential customers. The findings help media outlets and companies make the right decisions in promoting their brands. Even though selecting the TV programs to watch is at the consumer’s discretion, yet the ratings data can help increase the ROI of companies.
image via
The Millennials are the first to experience cable TV, the Internet, social media, and smartphones, so technology is fundamentally programmed into every Millennial’s gene. As television has progressed into a complex shape with the advancement in the Internet, mobile devices, and TV apps, Nielsen has remained abreast the changing technological landscape.
Nielsen’s collection of ratings takes into account majority of devices that TV can be watched on. Nielsen measurement services track whether you are watching your favorite TV show on your LED at home, on a smartphone app or on some website.
The company has even entered deals with several DirectTV companies to integrate their data into its People Metric data. Click here if you want to know more about DirectTV.
How Nielsen does this?
The company uses a wide range of rating collection and measurement tools and technologies to track what people are watching on TV, how they are watching and where they are watching.
• It monitors network signals to count mobile subscribers watching TV programs
• It evaluates cell phone bills of consumers to compute how much TV is being watched
• It uses on-device measurement tools to monitor TV apps usage
• It analyzes mobile carrier server logs to comprehend TV watching behavior on both feature phones and smartphones
• It surveys people who watch TV on mobile devices
• It itemizes cross-platform consumers across desktops, mobile devices, and apps
• It regularly tracks data of sites with smaller users
• It delivers all data on an immediate, regular basis
Without any doubts, Nielsen is a leader in the TV rating collection industry. It was the first company to introduce the idea of TV ratings and it has maintained its leadership to the digital era. What drives the company to come up with accurate figures, even in today’s digital age, is the philosophy of embracing change with an open heart.
The company has always accepted innovations and has in turn come up with innovative ways to count and collect figures to provide a true picture of TV ratings. The figures from Nielsen are so accurate that the company has now an across-the-board grip over the mobile devices and Internet generated TV market. In fact, they have the inmost understanding of how people use their digital devices and what channels they watch, how and when.
The company even enjoys patents for on-device meters, which allow them to fully monitor participating panels of digital subscribers. The company measures over 40 percent of the world’s television viewing behavior. So, the next time you see that great body spray ad while watching your favorite program via an app, never think that it was a coincidence; it was generated by big data Nielsen works on.
Nielsen uses the collected data to let companies know how and when to reach potential customers. The findings help media outlets and companies make the right decisions in promoting their brands. Even though selecting the TV programs to watch is at the consumer’s discretion, yet the ratings data can help increase the ROI of companies.
image via
