General Question

erichw1504's avatar

How long does it take to watch a TV show for it to be considered "watched" by the Nielsen rating system?

Asked by erichw1504 (26453points) October 2nd, 2009

I’ve always wondered how long it took for me to watch a TV show for it to be part of the Nielsen rating system. For instance, if I’m just channel surfing and I just catch a minute or two of CSI: Missouri, does it count? Or let’s say I watch every minute of Japan Idol except for one, does it count? How long does it take? And how do I know if my television actually transmits this data (since it’s pretty old)?

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7 Answers

gussnarp's avatar

You have to be part of the Nielsen program, as I understand it, which includes a box provided by Nielsen that transmits the information. Unless they’ve changed the way it works, if you didn’t sign up, they don’t know what you are watching.

gussnarp's avatar

Actually, I think it used to be an actual written survey.

saranwrapper's avatar

Unless you are a Nielsen family, you would know if you were, then your television viewing isn’t recorded. It’s borth a transmitter box on your televison and a written survey. Any amount of time is recorded. The analysis is done minute by minute.

erichw1504's avatar

@gussnarp & @saranwrapper Oh, I didn’t know that. How many people are part of the Nielsen family?

erichw1504's avatar

And do they get paid for this?

La_chica_gomela's avatar

They don’t get paid. They just get to feel important. According to @gussnarp‘s link about 5,000 households participate yearly.

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