The viewership data that Nielsen’s develops in important in determining how much advertisers pay to place their ads on TV. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the system? Are there alternative systems that might work better? Explain.
Disadvantages of the System
• It uses a very small target audience from various demographics to compile information using until recently manual forms and lately electronic meters. Both methods to record information are subject to mistakes and forgetfulness.
• It falls behind technological advances, not considering other devices and technologies people use to watch TV, for example: computers, iPods, portable TVs, and media players.
• It also does not consider university students who live away from their homes. They are a very important group of people that watch as much or more TV as other groups, and who currently are being counted like they were still at home not watching TV at all.
• It concentrates efforts in households only and does not count viewing habits of other venues where people watch TV too, like bars, offices, hotels, prisons, and several other public venues.
• Cable companies are unhappy with the system and they do not think Nielsen accurately captures the number of people who watch cable TV.
• It also shows discrepancies between network and cable TV where readings showed remarkable contrasting results for the same program in two different channels.
• The compiled information comes from a very small portion of the population in the USA and Canada, which could lead to bias responses as these people know they are being measured.
Advantages of the System
• The Nielsen system of tracking television viewing habits is advantageous to sponsors because they can take ...
... middle of paper ...
...nt in retribution and discounted health care insurance.
Disadvantages: It is a very intrusive method that could be hard for people willing to participate in this program. The promotional plan for this product needs to be very aggressive and convincing with a valid proof that the implant would not harm the brain or have side effects.
Advantages: It will pay customers for the time they watch TV, and will include discounts in (extended) health care insurance and monthly monitoring of the implant and its usability. The customers receiving statistics will contribute a percentage of their earnings with participating users. The information will be recorded without relying on any extra step or any kind of human interaction. The microchip will read the signals anywhere the person is and will record all kind of useful information for advertisers and TV producers.
Mittell does a great job explaining the differences between television viewers and television audiences, which are not interchangeable terms. Television viewers refer to the actual individuals who watch television, while the concept of television audiences refers to the process by which television viewers are categorized, measured, and sold. Mittell also states that the system of television ratings is one of the most influential methods in measuring a television audience, also known as the Nielsen report. As a result of the television rating system, Mittell argues that the television viewers are dehumanized, reduced to only numbers. I agree with him on this point. With the rise of social media, accessing shows are easier than ever, which allows more people to become fans of it. However, social media has highlighted the flaws of this system. Counting individuals that watch a show through a television box set, ignores the multitude of other people that could be watching the show through a streaming service or social media. Furthermore, with the ability to record programming on a cable box, there could be tons of people that watch the show after the episode is aired. Under the current system of television ratings, individuals that choose to watch television on other forms of media are ignored and not counted. As a result, the television
All TV shows are ranked in order each week according to their ratings. Ratings are simply a tally of how many viewers watched a specific TV program and are surveyed nationwide every minute of every day. The "sweeps" are four months out of every year (November, February, May and July) when Nielsen measures every local TV market in detail in addition to the ongoing national surveys. The rating system involves mathematical statistics with a focus on percentages. For example, there are 100 million homes in the world with TV sets. A rating aims to answer the direct question, "What percentage of the television homes in the world is watching a particular telecast?" A rating of 15 means 15%, or 15 million homes, were watching. At certain slow times during the day and night it is difficult to get viewers. The total viewing audience, the homes who are actually watching their television sets, is called the HUT, or Homes Using Television. At 8 p.m., the daily peak for television viewing, the HUT is approximately 70. That is, 70% of the television homes in the world are watching something.
The market penetration of TiVo has been very poor. Fourteen months after its introduction only 0.04% penetration has been achieved out of the total of 102million TV watching population. This is also reflected in the poor revenue position of the company. Exhibit 3 shows that the company recorded a loss every quarter since the introduction of the product in September 1999 and has been getting worse.
The first excuse is economics. The business of TV is ruled by a simple declaration: Get the audience the advertisers want. The consequence is that major networks forgo the mass ...
Brain implants are one of the more recent advances that have been made in biomedical technology. These devices have been used to restore motor function in those that have been paralyzed and have even been used to reduce tremor in patients with diseases such as Parkinson’s. The continual advancement of this technology is now to the extent that one person could control the motor movements of another or even that a person could download their memories or thoughts.
Determining the right target segment requires an analysis of the customer, company and competition (fig. 2). TiVo's customer is defined by unmet needs in the market. While TV is one of the most ensconced and ritualistic elements of contemporary American life, there are still aspects of television viewing that do not fulfill customer needs. An estimated 68% of Americans complained that they felt "widowed" by their loved one during the Fall television season because their spouses were chained to their televisions during primetime from 8pm to 11pm. Additionally, parents expressed a difficult time getting their children to do homework during key television programming times. In general, this is evidence that consumers want greater control over their television consumption habits. Analysis of the TiVo Corporation reveals their core competencies, which include proprietary software, national distribution through established retail outlets such as Best Buy, Circuit City and Sears and product co-branding with trusted electronics giants Philips and Sony.
Before television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive their little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today. It was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course, inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household (MGHR). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment.
Presently 98% of the households in the United States have one or more televisions in them. What once was regarded as a luxury item has become a staple appliance of the American household. Gone are the days of the three channel black and white programming of the early years; that has been replaced by digital flat screen televisions connected to satellite programming capable of receiving thousands of channels from around the world. Although televisions and television programming today differ from those of the telescreens in Orwell’s 1984, we are beginning to realize that the effects of television viewing may be the same as those of the telescreens.
Seidman, R. (2010, February 17). TV ratings top 25: Olympics and and American idol battle for
Nightingale, V & Dwyer, T 2006 ‘The audience politics of ‘enhanced’ television formats’, International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics, vol. 2, no.1, pp. 25-42
Television is everywhere these days, not just in our living rooms but in bathrooms, kitchens, doctor's offices, grocery stores, airplanes, and classrooms. We have access to TV virtually anywhere and as American's we are taking advantaged of it. Adults aren't the only ones watching TV; children today are watching more TV than ever before. TV has even become known as "America's baby-sitter." (Krieg). Meaning that parents are now using the television as a way of entertaining their children while they attempt to accomplish other things such as cooking and cleaning.
... viewing quality becomes and the more channels we can get, the more people are likely to stay inside. Don’t get me wrong, I love TV, and I feel that it is one of the most important inventions that this world has been blessed with; but I feel that it is taking away from some of the “realness” of our lives. People are becoming less healthy, they are developing eye and other health problems, and they don’t know what is real and what is not any more. I hope that in the future television designers and makers can develop so new technologies that would improve and not worsen our environment. The television is a very helpful and important tool that has had a great impact on our society, but we need to be aware of how this tool has also affected out environment as well, so next time you watch you television, think about what impact you might be having on our environment!
Television is the center of the household. It will always be there. You cannot ignore it just as you cannot ignore a
When television first came on the market about fifty years ago, families had one television at the most in the household, and most families only used the television for the news or for an occasional show or two. Today, it is a rarity if you find only one television in a household. Most families have numerous televisions in their house and use it more and more for entertainment purposes. People of all ages are addicted to television. On average, people watch about thirty hours of television a week. But the people who go beyond this mark are known to society as “couch potatoes';.
Clancy, Kevin J., and David W. Lloyd. Uncover the Hidden Power of Television Programming: --and Get the Most from Your Advertising Budget. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1999