So, when do the ratings come in?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Many companies and most major advertising agencies are closed on Monday. It's a holiday. Even the stock market is closed.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Right. With my work schedule I tend to lose track of what day it is.

Also, here in Florida, a great many business are open. Schools and banks are closed, but most ordinary businesses aren't.

Regards,

Joe

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

Well one thing is for sure. If that NFL game drew in a record amount of viewers, that can't be all that good for Rangers...

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'I don't believe in the no-win scenario' - JTK

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Chris Springob:
OK. I figured that Nielsen itself released the ratings. I didn't know that it was the networks themselves that are in charge of that. Thanks for the info.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think two things are being confused here: the source and the release of ratings information. The source for ratings are Nielsen Media. Nielsen provides a subscription service. All the nets subscribe as do others, such as ad agencies. Nielsen does not release ratings information to those who are not subscribers. That's how it makes it's money.

The subscriber's to Nielsen's ratings often do relase some of the rating information they get. For example, when a show does particularly well, a network may provide a press release or otherwise discuss limited information about those ratings (e.g., through it's web site). As with all press releases, such information would be intended to provide data shown in the best light for the source. Sometimes they can be very creative in reporting on things.

There are many other sources that subscribe to the ratings data. Some provide partial data on ratings information (particularly on the 6-net shows) both in print and via the web.

For non-syndicated and non-local shows, preliminary ratings are provided overnight and followed up later with more accurate information. That's why the football ratings are available now.

Most networks and ad agencies are closed for a 3-day weekend in the USA so the first they will really spend any time analyzing those ratings from a business perspective is Tuesday.


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[This message has been edited by ala (edited January 22, 2002).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by taichidave:
TUESDAY??

What'll we do till then?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, you could Martinize your shorts. Or play Cowboy with your pet CrocoStimpy...

Happy Happy-Joy Joy!

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Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it.

" The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion. We can not escape history. We will be remembered, in spite of ourselves. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the last generation. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose our last best hope."

I'm guessing that the movie garnered high ratings among B5 fans, but what about the general science fiction viewing public? I wonder how many of them tuned it. Or even people that don't normally watch any kind of science fiction?

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Dulann: You don't solve your problems by hitting them.
David Martel: Yeah, well, it made me feel better.

I don't know if this is any indication or anything but I found a news article on SciFi.com about the "high ratings" Epoch scored when it aired. The news article was posted on the Thursday after the movie aired (which was on a Saturday like Rangers).

Also, I don't know how much bearing this has on things but SciFi.com reported that Epoch "had SCI FI's second-highest original movie ratings, after Frank Hebert's Dune, drawing a viewership of 1.7 million households and a 2.3 rating."

So, can Rangers do better than a 2.3 rating? I sure think so and here's to hoping!


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Monica Hübinette | Abyss : B5 <- New & Improved!
Pouch-sucking spawn of a bladder fish! Son of a fitch piece of smelt! Tok-swallowing fenbarger! Thrak it! --Na'Feel swearing in B5LR

I should think "to Live and Die in Starlight" would get better ratings than "Epoch". I watched both movies and liked the Ranger movie better.

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Dulann: You don't solve your problems by hitting them.
David Martel: Yeah, well, it made me feel better.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RW7427:
I should think "to Live and Die in Starlight" would get better ratings than "Epoch". I watched both movies and liked the Ranger movie better.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I never did catch it ... I was interested but forgot to tell the TiVo to record it. Oh well, guess I will catch it the next time they show it.

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Monica Hübinette | Abyss : B5 <- New & Improved!
Pouch-sucking spawn of a bladder fish! Son of a fitch piece of smelt! Tok-swallowing fenbarger! Thrak it! --Na'Feel swearing in B5LR

Yes, does anyone know the ratings yet? I wonder if they forgot the 3 day weekend thing and it will be known tomorrow, Wednesday.

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"The Bible is a book: it is a good book, but is is not the only book" - Inherit the Wind

"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

hypatia@b5fan.b5lr.com

Well, it's Tuesday, verging on lunchtime in LA, and I can't find anything about the ratings on the Web. I'm about to go nuts.

This is just my sadistic way of bumping the thread.

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Where do you folks go to check for ratings, anyway?

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"The Bible is a book: it is a good book, but is is not the only book" - Inherit the Wind

"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

hypatia@b5fan.b5lr.com

You know, we may not hear anything. As noted above, the general public cannot just go and "check rating" - that information is sold to networks and advertisers, not given away. There are seveal possibilities here, and only one or two of them would result in our seeing the ratings. Here's the run down:

1) The ratings are fantastic. The movie beat Dune, Sci-Fi wants a series.

They may publish the ratings and brag a little. Or, they may wait. Even if they decided on Tuesday morning that they wanted a show, there is still the little matter of making a deal with Warner Bros. et al. They know the fans are primed to think that good ratings = new series. So they may not reveal them until they're sure there's going to be a series.

2) The ratings suck, everybody in America watched the "snow bowl", "Rangers who?"

There's no reason to publicize the ratings.

3) The rating is right near the number they were hoping for.

Sci-Fi has to make a decision, which will take time. Odds are they don't publish the number, at least not immediately. See (1) above.

Chances are that the only way we'll see a ratings number is if someone who works in TV or advertising leaks it. And those folks have to be careful, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

(Besides, even if we see a number, chances are we get the answer to the question we really want answered, namely, "Will there be a series?" I sure don't know what Sci-Fi has in mind. Granted, if it pulled a 5.0, we're probably in good shape. (Meaning that they can start talking to WB, the cast, etc.) But if its a 2.5? a 3.0 even? I've heard rumors of what they're after, but I don't know for sure. So the ratings are apt to be of very limited utility.)

Regards,

Joe

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

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joseph DeMartino:
You know, we may not hear anything. As noted above, the general public cannot just go and "check rating" - that information is sold to networks and advertisers, not given away.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have seen a couple of sites that give the top ten or fifteen cable shows for the week (which I'm guessing that TLaDiS would fit into), though they seem to take their time in updating them. Here's an example:
http://tv.zap2it.com/news/ratings/


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Yes, the top 10 or 20 broadcast shows are routinely listed in the TV supplement from your local paper and you can find similar top "whatever" lists, sometimes including cable, in a few places. The data is usually a couple of weeks out of date. (Chris's link is for the week ending January 6th.) I certainly hope the Rangers would end up in that top 20 list, but if it doesn't my points above hold. You and I can't go looking for the ratings for a particular show or a particular network right after something has and expect to find them. We'll know when we know.

Regards,

Joe

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

This is frustrating compared to the ratings situation in the UK.
Here, the ratings are public knowlege within a few days and are released to anyone who wants them free of charge.
It seems odd that a network can hold on to figures.

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'I plan to live forever, or die trying' - Villa Blake's 7

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Joseph DeMartino:

1) The ratings are fantastic. The movie beat Dune, Sci-Fi wants a series.

They may publish the ratings and brag a little. Or, they may wait. Even if they decided on Tuesday morning that they wanted a show, there is still the little matter of making a deal with Warner Bros. et al. They know the fans are primed to think that good ratings = new series. So they may not reveal them until they're sure there's going to be a series.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cable networks usually post good ratings for PR purposes. It serves as "bragging rights" over competing networks, it alerts potential advertisers that the network is doing well, it even makes investors feel good about owning USA Networks' stock.

Given the "down" market in advertising right now, I can't imagine SciFi waiting too long to make an announcement if the ratings were in the fantastic range.

I keep remembering that SciFi *wanted* to renew Farscape this past summer, but the negotiations took quite a long time to complete.

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So you don't know the ratings for the movie yet, SavantB5? Darn--I'm getting so impatient waiting for the numbers!

Tammy

PS--There certainly seem to be a lot of people online who saw the movie. Hopefully, at least some of those people are in Nielsen Families!

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"We're in here! Can anyone hear us?"
"I hear you." [giggle, laugh]
"In here!"
"We are here." [giggle, laugh]
-- Londo and G'Kar in Babylon 5:"Convictions"

Tammy's Station
http://community.webtv.net/gkarfan/TammysStation

Joe D.,

Thank you for your replies. A more informative, polite and on-topic poster I have yet to read concerning B5 matters. Thank you and thanks again!

I guess all good things will come in time.

To quote Tom Petty, "The waiting is the hardest part".

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Here, the ratings are public knowlege within a few days and are released to anyone who wants them free of charge.
It seems odd that a network can hold on to figures.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's all about industry economics. It costs A.C. Nielsen plenty of money to gather and provide all the data to the networks and advertising agencies. And the data itself is worth a lot of money to the Networks because it translates directly into advertising $$$. It's a never-ending business cycle that would fail if even one party in the chain released all the information to the public.

I majored in Communications in college, and one of the most valuable courses I took was called "Media Market Research", which basically was a study of the history of various measuring systems for television and radio, as well as their uses and relevence, and the difference between everyday ratings and sweeps-period ratings.

In every case, the sample data we looked at was directly from Nielsen or Arbitron publications for the DMA we were located in (Tallahassee, FL). But the data was from 3 sweeps periods earlier (and no longer of any value). One of the most valuable things we learned was how to make use of the data to sell TV or radio spots to a business based on demographics (which is ultimately what the ratings information is for).

I don't know the count now, but back in 1998 when I took the course, in a non-sweeps month , ratings were measured with a device called the Peoplemeter, which was installed in 2000 households that in theory statistically represented the viewing habits of the major markets in the United States, and that is where the Overnight Ratings come from.

So unless you have a Peoplemeter attached to your TV, it doesn't matter whether or not you watched the Rangers movie in terms of overnight TV ratings.

Which is why Joe D.'s idea of sending thank-you notes to the companies that sponsored the show is so very important. Ultimately, they are the ones who need to know that you saw their commercials during the Rangers movie, because they are the ones who paid to make the movie.

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[This message has been edited by nolesrule (edited January 23, 2002).]

[This message has been edited by nolesrule (edited January 23, 2002).]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by nolesrule:
Small correction to the above.

Those peoplemeter's are used for the overnight ratings, which are only based on major markets and not actually representative of the country as a whole.

The diaries count too. There are 4,000 diaries out there every week and they are meant to record a single week's viewing in a single household. It usually takes a couple weeks for this data to be made. It can take a week or more once the diary is turned in to compile the data from all 4,000 diary households.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm sorry. But, none of this is correct.

The Peoplemeter is the only source used for the national ratings. They aren't just for major markets, but sometimes early results are released called "major market overnights" that confuse matters. Later in the day, the full national data is used and that is what SciFi has by now.

Diaries are only used to compile local ratings since stations sell ad time locally and need ratings to sell against. There are far more than 4000 of those out in the U.S. at any one time because all 200+ markets need a decent sample.

The Nielsen website www.nielsenmedia.com has a section explaining their methodology.

I have a question...

Has anyone asked JMS for the ratings? He used to post them himself in the TNT days. If TNT would give them to him, I don't see why SciFi couldn't.

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