7-23. What potential value does Nielsen intend to add to its ratings by data mining Twitter to analyze social TV patterns? 7-24. What are the drawbacks of using Twitter as a rating tool? Do these disadvantages compromise the value of the Nielsen ratings? 7-25. How might the use of Twitter and other social media be influencing the viewing habits of the American audience? 7-26. As Nielsen extended its analytics of social media to include Facebook and Instagram as well as Twitter, what differences might it expect in the audience being analyzed? Would this analysis have any value to the networks? Why or why not?
TV and Social Media: Nielsen Social Content Ratings
Nielsen uses electronic “People Meters” in a representative sample of US households to measure TV viewing trends to understand the audience. Nielsen installs “cross-platform” people meters in half the houses to measure online traffic and computer/mobile TV viewing. The firm also requests paper-and-pencil viewing diaries.
Nielsen launched in 1936 when there were few TVs in the country and became the industry leader that may make or destroy a new show or producer. The show's survival and ad costs depend on viewership. Because the Super Bowl has the greatest TV audience, its advertising are the most costly.
In the age of Twitter and other social media, TV viewing is becoming a social experience for many individuals. While watching a show, viewers, especially those in the 18–34 age bracket, regularly criticize the actors, costumes, or screenplay in real time. Nielsen started analyzing social media to measure TV audience engagement and providing data on real-time dashboards for customers.
The analytics engine finds TV show-related tweets using keywords, photos, engagement metrics like retweets and replies, audience reach, and demographics. Many tweets use hashtags like #academyawards to identify the topic. The dashboard offers time-based information like the quantity of connected tweets with positive or negative spin and may browse through tweets as they appear. The dashboard displays real-time data, so clients can observe more than just viewership. They can watch how viewers react to scenes and people as they appear. For “social TV” viewers, demographics, and preferences, the software records hundreds of shows to create thorough comparative scores.
Nielsen benefits greatly from Twitter feeds for social TV analysis. Nielsen set-top boxes can't simply detect who in the household is viewing, or if the set is just switched on and no one is. Though they may not have time to watch them, many individuals record programming they like. They may fast-forward advertising even if they do. Viewer attitudes during shows and commercials cannot be assessed by set-top boxes.
Social media has drawbacks as an audience rating technique. Since the tweets are not representative, their content is slanted toward a specific audience. Non-Twitterers and Facebook users are not in the sample, and a small number of noisy tweeters may overwhelm the feeds.
Despite the disadvantages, Nielsen other techniques show a correlation between Twitter activity and TV ratings. Premiere episodes with an 8.5 percent Twitter volume increase had a 1 percent TV rating gain for 18–34-year-olds. Other age groups had a lesser association, likely because fewer use Twitter.
Twitter volume and TV ratings increase throughout the season, peaking in the finale. This shows Twitter measurements go beyond show appeal. TV buzz may be attracting more people to social TV.
Social TV may also encourage live viewing over recording. High Twitter chatter during the show indicates real-time opinions. This tendency may increase live ad viewers, which networks and marketers like.
Nielsen's Social Content Ratings now analyzes Facebook and Instagram postings and publishes the top 10 in series and specials, sports, and TV talent each week. Nielsen will keep its meticulous sample and set-top boxes, but it is pioneering new social TV research methods.
Discussion Questions
7-23. What potential value does Nielsen intend to add to its ratings by data mining Twitter to analyze social TV patterns?
7-24. What are the drawbacks of using Twitter as a rating tool? Do these disadvantages compromise the value of the Nielsen ratings?
7-25. How might the use of Twitter and other social media be influencing the viewing habits of the American audience?
7-26. As Nielsen extended its analytics of social media to include Facebook and Instagram as well as Twitter, what differences might it expect in the audience being analyzed? Would this analysis have any value to the networks? Why or why not?
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