quote:
Originally posted by Jennifer:
I have a question maybe someone here can answer. I know that nowadays people set their TiVO to record a show, or record it while watching another.
Do ratings count those who record the show?
There are several different ratings that Nielsen keeps track of on a daily (and weekly) basis.
The
'Live + Same Day' ratings (which are the ratings Marc reports here each day) count any show that was watched as it aired on TV as well as any show that was recorded, but still watched by 3am the next morning.
When you see people talk about DVR ratings, they are talking about the ratings related to
'Live + 7 Day' viewing. Those ratings come out 2-3weeks after the shows air and reflect all the viewers that watched a show within 7 days of when it aired.
There is another set of ratings, referred to as
'C3' that measure the actual commercials that get viewed during the airing of shows. The '3' reflected in that name has to do with the data being based upon counting viewers that watched the commercials live or within the first 3 days after the show aired. So, if a person uses their DVR/Tivo to record a show and they still watch the commercials when they watch the program later (within the 3 days after it airs), they will be counted as a viewer. However, if they skip passed the comercial or wait more than 3 days to watch it, they will not be counted. Advertisers use this
'C3' data to determine ad rates with the networks and the 'C3' data is barely released to the public at all.
I hope that answers your question and I am sure people will step in to correct whatever details I got wrong.