Media ResearchRTV 3007

TV Has a Huge Impact on Our Lives

TV is the main source of news for 70% of the US public

The average household views 5 hours, 11 minutes of TV every day

65% of US households have 3 or more TVs

TV changed US lifestyles, as more spare time was spent with TV, less at civic or social gatherings

Source: BLS American Time Use Survey, A.C. Nielsen Co.

Broadcast TV Programming

Broadcast TV aims for a general audience, and tries to schedule programming to reach people who are available to view.

Radio, by contrast, reaches a niche audience via its format.

Broadcast television is the last mass medium

TV Dayparts

Early Morning (6am-9am) - Children, homemakers, adults getting ready for work, retirees.

Morning (9am-12pm) - Preschoolers, homemakers, retirees, shift workers

Afternoon (12pm-4pm) - Morning audience plus working adults who come home for lunch, children returning from school

Early Fringe (4pm-6pm) - Return of most working adults begins

TV Dayparts

Early Evening (6pm-7pm) - In most markets, all segments of the audience are home

Prime Access (7pm-8pm) - All audience segments are available to view

Network Prime Time (8pm-11pm) - Everyone but children, retirees, and people who have to get up early

Late Fringe - (11pm-11:35pm) - Mostly adults

Late Night (11:35pm-2:05am) - Mostly adults

Overnight (2:05am-6am) - Mostly shift workers

Broadcast TV: Network Affiliates

Network provides most daily program content

Network compensates affiliate for carrying programs, increasing revenues

Network programs attract large audiences

Broadcast TV: Network Affiliates

Networks provide plenty of promotion

New competition (cable, satelite, Internet, etc.) makes network relationship less valuable

Broadcast TV: Syndication

Syndication is the licensing of the right to broadcast TV and radio programs by multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network.

First-Run Syndication – Shows that have never been aired before, and were produced for syndication. Jeopardy!

Off-Network Syndication – Shows that were first aired on network TV, but are now in reruns on other networks. Friends.

Generally speaking, a show is good for syndication after its 100th episode.

Timeline of Media Research

1914 - Advertisers and print publications create Audit Bureau of Circulation

1929 - Archibald Crossley conducts first listenership survey of radio

1936 - George Gallop uses quota sampling in presidential election

1940s - AC Nielsen conducts demographic listenership surveys

1948 - Gallup uses probability sampling in presidential election

1970s - SRI introduces VALS psychographics

2000 - Portable People Meters measure TV, radio

Research Vehicles

Diary - Research subjects record activity in a booklet or log

Interviews - In person or on the telephone, interviewers ask subjects about their media consumption habits or their opinions.

Set Meter - A monitoring device connected to the TV set that automatically records activity.

Portable Meter - A monitoring device is carried around and records TV/radio and Internet exposure in and out of home

Web Analytics - Server usage data PLUS audits of research subjects’ computers

Probability Sampling

Most media research companies use probability sampling

Draws polling subjects randomly from the population

Adjusts random sample so that it is demographically representative

The most reliable method used for polling and surveying.

Probability Sampling Concepts

Sample Selection - All members of the population should have an equal chance to be polled.

Sample size - Number of people in the population who need to be polled to get an accurate picture. The sample must be representative of the population as a whole.

Margin of Error - Percentage by which polling results may be “off,” in either direction. A sample size of 384 has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.

Confidence Level - A margin of error of plus or minus 5 points creates a confidence level of 95.

Straw Polls

Straw polls - participants are invited to call in and register their opinions.

Example: CNN anchors discuss the Ebola crisis, and ask the audience to vote whether the US is doing a good job.

Example: TV show invites you to call in to vote for your favorite singer.

Straw polls are NOT ACCURATE.

Straw Polls Are NOT Accurate

Straw Polls Are NOT Accurate

Straw Polls are NOT Accurate

People who answer straw polls are self-selected, and not a random sampling of the population

Straw poll participants often have an agenda.

Most straw polls let you vote more than once.

Media Research Companies

Neilsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) - Conducts continuous measurements in top-100 radio markets in four 12-week cycles per year. Smaller markets are measured twice a year. http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/solutions/capabilities/audio.html

Nielsen Media Research – Conducts continuous measurements of national audiences.

Neilsen Audio RADIO RATINGS

Audience size is measured by the quarter hour

Stations are credited with a listener if a person is tuned in for at least 5 minutes within a quarter-hour period

Music stations play music continuously between quarter-hours, scheduling breaks in between, to get highest listenership

Portable people meter measures media consumption across platforms.

Radio Ratings

Radio Ratings =

Number of people listening to station

Population of survey area

So if 50 people are listening to the station, and 1000 people live in the survey area, then the radio station has a rating of 5, or 5% of the population.

Top Radio Stations in Miami

Neilsen TV Ratings

Neilsen selects a random sample of 5000 households nationwide. The sample is demographically representative.

Neilsen uses a combination of written diaries, set meters and mobile“People Meters.”

Neilsen research provides in-depth demographic data to advertisers.

Sweeps Week - Surveys more than 200 TV markets for 4-week periods in November, February, May and July. Sets rates for local advertisers.

Neilsen TV Ratings

Portable People Meters automatically measure media that you are exposed to during the day.

The PPM is worn like a pager, and detects hidden audio tones within a station or network's audio stream, logging each time it finds such a signal.

Measuring TV Audiences: Ratings

TV Ratings =

Number of households viewing station

Number of TV households in survey area

If 100 households are viewing a station, and there are 1000 TV households in the survey area, then the station has a rating of 10, or 10 percent of the viewing audience.

Measuring Audience Share

Share =

The number of TV (or radio) households currently tuned to a particular station

Number of TV (or radio) households currently watching TV (or listening to the radio.)

If 100 households are viewing TV station WPVI, and there are 500 households with TV sets turned on in the viewing area, WPVI would have a 20 share.

Nielsen Primetime Broadcast TV Ratings

Nielsen CableTV Ratings

Nielsen Ratings – Hispanic Primteime

Nielsen Ratings – Hispanic Primteime

Nielsen Ratings – African-Am. Primetime

Nielsen Twitter Ratings

Audience Analysis

Demographics - Divides audience by membership by socio-economic level, age, gender, location, ethnic or religious background

Cohort Analysis - Divides audience by age. Gen X vs. Baby Boomers.

Geodemographics - Combines demographics with location

Psychographics - Divides audience by lifestyle

VALS: Psychodemographics

Divides people into demographic and psychological profiles.

Often used for lifestyle marketing

Innovators, Thinkers, Believers, Achievers, Strivers, Experiencers, Makers, Survivors

Most people belong to more than one category.

VALS: PSYCHODEMOGRAPHICS

Mass Communication Scholarship

Effects Studies - Does mass media have an affect on individuals? Does society affect the mass media? (ex: Does violence on TV promote violence in society?)

Process Studies - How does mass communication work? (industry, psychology, etc.)

Uses and Gratifications Studies - Why do people use mass media?

Content Analysis - What is the specific content of mass media? (ex: How much violence is there on TV?)