I’ve just finished setting up an online course for UAB (go Blazers) titled “Copywriting Broadcast Media.” One of my favorite topics is how ratings and shares are determined for radio and television stations. Few metrics are as important as ratings and shares.
“A Guide to Understanding and Using Portable People Meter Data for PPM Radio Ratings Customers” points out that “station” no longer refers just to what is being broadcast on AM/FM. In the PPM service, “station” can also refer to digital broadcasts, including HD radio, HD multicasts, and Internet streams.
Rating is the estimate of a program’s percentage of households watching; a rating is an estimated percentage of those watching compared to the population of homes with television. For example, Rigoletto’s household audience rating of 12 means that the Nielsen Ratings Service has estimated that 12 percent of the market’s household audience is watching a performance of Verdi’s opera. Vaughan’s formula is rating equals number of viewers divided by total universe of potential viewers.
This week I’m quizzing you on ratings vocab.
1. Nielsen asks selected families to -their viewing habits for a certain time period.
A. change
B. rate
C. metric
D. track
E. localize
2. Which one is measured?
A. an individual who is watching
B. a home
C. a local television station
D. None of the above
No. 1 is track. As for No. 2, Nielsen measures homes, not people. If Vaughan’s Vocabulary became a TV show and has a household audience rating of 13, that means Nielsen has estimated that 13 percent of the market’s households is watching, i.e., VV is on in 13 percent of the homes. One person may be watching in one home, whereas seven may be watching in another; the household measurement does not take the difference into account.
3. Which one will have the highest value?
A. rating
B. share
4. If Cher has a share of 30, then
A. her rating is 10 percent of 30.
B. 30 percent of people in the market are watching her.
C. that is the estimated percentage of how many households using televisions at the time are watching Cher.
D. All of the above
No. 3 is B because the market pie, as it were, is smaller after taking away homes not using TV at the time.
No. 4 is C.
Don Rodney Vaughan
Pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church of Webster County, Miss.
662.617.1457
Listen to The Gospel of Jesus Christ with Don Rodney Vaughan, Monday through Friday at 10:28 a.m. and 4:28 p.m. on 107.1 FM in Louisville, Miss.
