the Nielsens

[Doug Henwood]

I just heard a story about how they construct the Nielsen TV ratings. A guy
I know with, oh, unusual viewing habits was selected as a Nielsen "family"
(a family of 1, but that's what they call them). He got a box attached to
his TV to record his viewing habits. After a few weeks, he got a call from
Nielsen saying they wanted to drop him. Turns out they found their "ideal"
family - one not like him. In talking with the Nielsen rep, he found out
that 22 people had turned down Nielsen before they took him. Once an
"ideal" family agreed, he was no longer useful to them. So everything we
know about U.S. TV-watching habits is the product of junk science.

Doug