Ratings for Columbus Day...

I know this is cheating, but for those of us with cable, who will be taping on Sci Fi Channel, or for those of us that will not...

Turn your cable boxes on Sci Fi for the entire day, they base ratings on surveying cable boxes. If we all are on Sci Fi Channel, (and everyone we know,) we will hit a big enough rating to make the interest in Crusade increase, and the possibility of a return to production better.

Thanx!!!

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Turn your cable boxes on Sci Fi for the entire day, they base ratings on surveying cable boxes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry, but TV ratings are based on Nielsen boxes, and on viewer diaries, not cable boxes. So unless one is attached to your cable box, this isn't going to do any good.

Nielsen Media Research selects representative households (not all of which even have cable) in which to install channel meters or people meters, and extrapolates national viewing patterns from this sample. (Four times a year they send out diaries to people in every television market in the country to measure local viewing patterns. These are the famous "sweeps periods" when local advertising rates are set for the next three months.)

Cable boxes have nothing to do with any of this. For more information on how TV ratings really work go to Nielsen Media Research

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

The Babylon 5 ratings curse strikes against. The military put on their own show on CNN during Columbus Day.

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Andrew Swallow

Columbus Day is celebrated tomorrow. I doubt we'll have the same kind of wall-to-wall news coverage then, because of the time difference and the fact that we'll need time to assess the damage done by Sunday's bombing before we draw up a target list for the next set of strikes. More than likely the only thing going on during the Crusade marathon on the east and west coasts over here will be press-briefings and humanitarian air drops.

While Columbus Day is a Federal holiday, meaning that banks and Federal offices are closed, it is not much observed on the state level, so there won't be very many people home to watch it anyway.

There will however, be major retail sales, which is one of the things that tends to disrupt normal viewing patterns on holidays. If anything Sci-Fi is expecting lower-than-usual ratings on Monday. That's why they are not "wasting" their regularly-scheduled programming and replacing it with a marathon that is at least likely to keep most of its small audience glued to the channel for the whole 13 hours.

Regards,

Joe



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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

Shows what I know of the media, thanx.

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I would be glued to my set, but I have a crummy thing called school to go to. It just ain't fair.

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Ivanova is always right. I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova's recommendations. Ivanova is God. And if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out.

I've filled out the TV diaries twice so far. Once about 6 years ago, then again 2 years ago.

Anyone else ever get one?

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"We are all Kosh."

We got the diary at my house last year. Made sure all sci-fi shows were written down

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DS9 and B5. Who would have thought 2 of my fav shows would take place on stations in the middle of nowhere

I have done ratings diaries twice, several years ago, before the Sci-Fi Channel became my channel of choice. Now that I would list SFC as Numero Uno (gotta watch B5 and Farscape), I will probably never get selected again to do a diary.

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Hail, Booji!

Does anyone know if the Crusade "chain reaction" was considered successful by SciFi? Does anyone know what the criteria was?


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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mondo Londo:
Does anyone know if the Crusade "chain reaction" was considered successful by SciFi? Does anyone know what the criteria was?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The goal is generally to get the highest ratings/demos possible with the lowest cost of product and the highest ad rates possible. On cable (which is different then 6-network) you sell the timeband at a negotiated rate to an advertiser Upfront. If you don't meet or exceed the guaranteed rating for the timeband then you have to provide a makegood. If you meet or exceed it, the advertiser is happy. If you exceed it often enough, you consider raising your rates for this timeband next year (assuming that the Upfront season isn't softer than this year).

Other criteria can and do apply. For example, a show might only do fairly from a ratings perspective but bring in a demo that you want to attract to your network. Note SCI-FI's comments about women and Farscape / John Edward this year as an example of attracting a demo.

Historical ratings can be and generally are used to predict current interest in certain kinds of shows. For example, B5's repeats were doing very well on SCI-FI when the contract for Rangers was signed.

I don't believe Columbus Day sold as an individual sponsorship. This would mean it was part of the standard buys for the timeband.

For the period 11 AM to 8 PM, the ratings averaged .5. They ranged from .3 to .9 with the last three hours doing the best at .6, .6, and .9. By comparison, during the same period on 9 October (the next day) the average was a .43. Crusade matched or marginally exceeded everything in a comparative timeslot except Sliders (which was in the War Zone time slot at 6 PM and marginally beat Crusade by .1). On 1 October (the previous Monday), the average was a .32 with Crusade beating or equaling everything marginally (but the thing it only equaled was Black Scorpion, which has always been a SCI-FI ratings disaster).

Basically, as before, it held the period for a standard weekday but didn't exceed it.

Best,
Alyson

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[This message has been edited by ala (edited October 13, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by ala (edited October 13, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by ala (edited October 28, 2001).]

Thanks for the detailed explanation!

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"What's up, Drakh?"

Michael Garibaldi

Well I'll have you know that I took off work that day and watched 12 of the 13 episodes.....

Yeah, I'm a trooper.

So what you're saying is that, basically, anyone without a Neilson box doesn't count?

Maybe I need a little more clarification......



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THRAWN
Official ambassador
to Babylon 5 from The People's Republic of Haven.

"Grandpa, there's only 49 stars on this Flag."
"I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missoura."
- Marge & Grandpa

If you go to http://pub79.ezboard.com/fbabylon5thelegendoftherangersfrm8 you can post at my board.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Thrawn:
Well I'll have you know that I took off work that day and watched 12 of the 13 episodes.....

Yeah, I'm a trooper.

So what you're saying is that, basically, anyone without a Neilson box doesn't count?

Maybe I need a little more clarification......
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thrawn, no wonder you are so busy these days. You are catching up from Columbus day Crusade!

I have been chosen to be a Nielson "family" twice on my own, and once when I was growing up. We NEVER had a box, we got a diary in the mail. But it's true: if you were not selected as Nielson "family", then you don't get counted by Nielson's statistics.

It's a system that has been criticized for years. But they have to use SOMETHING to gage ratings. Random samples, IF taken correctly, can usually do a good job of this.

That's the Nielson game, as I understand it.

Glad to see you still post here, Thrawn. Don't let work drag you away too much!

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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo

"I think I speak for Mr. Bloom and myself when I say: you are the only director in the World who can do justice to 'Springtime For Hitler' - Zero Mostel, The Producers

The best defense of the Nielson system is that there is no way for anyone to "stuff the ballot box".

And, they do make a determined effort to get a Good cross section of the population.

If they weren't pretty accurate, the Advertisers would find someone else to do the job.
After all, at Millions of dollars per minute of air time, they don't want to place commercials in a program that no one is watching.
Or that the Wrong audience is watching.

Which is the Real weakness of the whole Ad Supported TV system.
A show can be Very Popular and still get cancelled if the Demographic that likes it is percieved as not spending their Money on the products being advertised.


That was a large part of the reason the Original Trek was cancelled.
The networks and advertisers knew the show was attracting a large audience.
They just believed the Science Fiction Audience was Too BROKE to buy anything.

Time has, of course, shown them the error of their ways.


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The 3 most common elements in the Universe:
Hydrogen, Greed, Stupidity!

The main target for advertising is housewives, so anything aimed at men and boys needs to find its own products.

10 things I have purchased in the last month.
1. newspapers.
2. car tax.
3. mortgage payments.
4. petrol.
5. phone bill.
6. computer software.
7. clothes
8. shares via saving scheme
9. income tax
10. life insurance.

Does anyone else have a similar list?


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Andrew Swallow

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bakana:
That was a large part of the reason the Original Trek was cancelled.
The networks and advertisers knew the show was attracting a large audience.
They just believed the Science Fiction Audience was Too BROKE to buy anything.

Time has, of course, shown them the error of their ways.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've never heard that before, but it does make sense, doesn't it? Ads are (always were and always will be) very expensive on television. That's why I feel that cable/satellite will only continue to improve science fiction. Cable seems to be able to handle lower ratings and perhaps a more specific “target” audience.

I just hope that “target” audience doesn’t start to eliminate the more literate and interesting aspects of sci-fi. Science fiction is the one area that can almost literally explore any scenario it wants to.

I guess that’s part of what makes it so exciting. I hope the need for ads doesn’t ruin it.


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"I do not believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense,
reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."-- Galileo

"I think I speak for Mr. Bloom and myself when I say: you are the only director in the World who can do justice to 'Springtime For Hitler' " - Zero Mostel, The Producers

Its not fair, UK sci fi doesnt run on my terrestrial digital, so to catch the entire of Crusade I had to go out and buy, albeit for my dads birthday, but still. What can I say, when your dads a B5 fan, life (and birthday presents) is good.

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As it is, such is life.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR> Its not fair, UK sci fi doesnt run on my terrestrial digital, so to catch the entire of Crusade I had to go out and buy, albeit for my dads birthday, but still. What can I say, when your dads a B5 fan, life (and birthday presents) is good. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

UK Sci FI has never, to the best of my knowledge, shown Crusade. It's been shown on Sky satellite, and on Channel 4 terrestrial. Trouble was that Channel 4 'Premiered' Crusade at approx 1 am on a Monday morning. They were obviously expecting a lot of viewers

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Demon

Sky onme showed it? Must have been before we got digital. Sadly Im pretty sure theyre the ones who are going to be showing Rangers. Youve gotta love VHS.

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As it is, such is life.