What do tv ratings numbers mean

View Results. Industry Essentials. Skip to main content. Articles Categories Polls. Log In Sign Up adults kids. I Accept. Log In. The numbers can be useful in comparing one Netflix show to another, but the service has thus far only publicly released highlights, not a full tally.

Social ratings: Nielsen measures social engagement around TV shows, counting the number of posts about a given episode and the reach of the conversation. Third-party measurements: A number of companies measure things like out-of-home viewing or binge viewing, but they can rely on users to opt in to sharing data, which can lead to a less representative sample.

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. October 5, am. Logo text. Related Stories. All Rights reserved. Take The Free Quiz! Request Info. The Rating System A Nielsen rating goes by percentage. How Nielsen Ratings are Used There are a few different reasons why the ratings are important. The Nielsen Family A Nielsen Family doesn't actually need to be a family to participate in the ratings process.

This means the other 85 percent either watched something else or didn't watch television at all. Related Posts. Nielsen uses a technique called statistical sampling to rate the shows.

Nielsen creates a "sample audience" and then counts how many in that audience view each program. Nielsen then extrapolates from the sample and estimates the number of viewers in the entire population watching the show. How much is Nielsen TV worth? This research is worth billions of dollars. Is the Nielsen TV ratings legit? The national TV ratings largely rely on these meters. Why do shows get cancelled? A show that has several million viewers may seem popular to us, but a network may need millions more watching that program to make it a financial success.

Which cable news network has highest ratings? Television Studies Early Television Foundation. Cite This! Try Our Sudoku Puzzles!