Splitsider

On Why Nielsen Ratings Are Inaccurate, and Why They'll Stay That Way

The next step in the media revolution has to be throwing Nielsen out the window and then spitting on its fragmented remains. It's absolutely irrelevant. Also, whoever thinks TV is still free (for the price of your time watching the network's advertising) is fooling themselves. Cable companies pay each network it airs millions of dollars a year for the privilege, to the point where if there's a contract dispute, they pull their programming. Who foots that bill, ultimately? The viewer. The only way for television networks to survive the digital age in the black is to stop relying so heavily on advertising. There is a place for commercials, but viewers aren't watching in the same way anymore, so networks have to start doing things differently, too. These days, at least half the shows I watch are online. Of those, at least 15% are downloaded "illegally" because there is no legal alternative (e.g., shows from the UK). BBC, iTV, and Sky could be monetizing the small American market for their programs, but they aren't. If they can't keep up with technology, they will be left in the lurch. Plain and simple.

Posted on January 31, 2011 at 8:26 pm 0