NBC touts its DVR viewing results by press release, and we continue to wonder if this is just bragging rights or if advertisers are paying for any of these DVR viewers?
‘HEROES’ JUMPS BY 20 PERCENT, LEADS A PACK OF NINE NBC SHOWS THAT INCREASE BY DOUBLE-DIGIT PERCENTAGES IN 18-49 RATING GOING FROM ‘LIVE PLUS SAME DAY’ TO ‘LIVE PLUS SEVEN DAY’ NIELSENS, MOST FOR ANY MAJOR NET
NBC’S PRIMETIME LINEUP ADVANCES 0.4 OF A RATING POINT IN 18-49 RATING, TO A 3.7 FROM A 3.3, IN THE TRANSITION TO ‘LIVE PLUS SEVEN DAY’ RESULTS
NBC ALSO DELIVERS THE BIGGEST GAIN IN ADULTS 18-34, TO WIN PREMIERE WEEK OUTRIGHT IN THAT VALUABLE DEMO
BURBANK, Calif. – October 13, 2008 – NBC has increased its premiere-week adult 18-49 rating by 0.4 of a rating point or 12 percent in “live plus seven day” in-home viewing data released today by Nielsen Media Research versus the previously reported “live plus same day” figures. The new results include DVR playback for seven days after a show’s initial airing while the “live plus same day” figures limited DVR playback to the night of the telecast through 3 a.m.
The NBC increase of 0.4 of a rating point or 12 percent (to a 3.7 rating from a 3.3) is the biggest among the major networks for this season’s premiere week of September 22-28. NBC was also up by 13 percent or 0.4 of a point among adults 18-34 in the transition to “live plus seven” averages from “live plus same day” for premiere week (3.5 vs. 3.1). That boosted NBC to a finish of #1 outright among adults 18-34 for premiere week, up from a tie with ABC in “live plus same day” results. Other NBC gains were 11 percent in adults 25-54 (to a 4.0 from a 3.6) and 8 percent in overall total viewers (9.0 million vs. 8.3 million).
NBC’s biggest gainer in the transition to “live plus seven” was “Heroes,” which saw its adult 18-49 rating jump by 20 percent (to a 6.05 rating from a 5.05). Other NBC telecasts that increased by double digits in premiere week included “The Office” (+18%, to a 5.83 rating from a 4.92), “ER” (+17%, 3.85 vs. 3.28), “Lipstick Jungle” (+16%, 2.78 vs. 2.40), “Law & Order: SVU” (+14%, 4.32 vs. 3.80), “My Name is Earl” (+14%, 3.10 vs. 2.71), “Knight Rider” (+13%, 2.81 vs. 2.48), “Heroes: Countdown to the Premiere” (+11%, 2.94 vs. 2.66) and “America’s Toughest Jobs” (+10%, 1.30 vs. 1.18).
In all, NBC had nine primetime telecasts that week that generated double-digit gains in 18-49 rating going from “live plus same day” to “live plus seven,” the most for any major network ahead of Fox (eight), CBS (seven) and ABC (four).
Among the NBC premiere-week shows that added more than 1 million total viewers in this transition were “Heroes” (12.018 million vs. 10.150 million, an increase of 1.868 million), “The Office” (10.914 million vs. 9.393 million, an increase of 1.521 million), “ER” (9.317 million vs. 8.057 million, an increase of 1.260 million) and “Law & Order: SVU” (10.902 million vs. 9.698 million, an increase of 1.204 million).
well the dvr numbers make nbc look a little better…they need all the make-up they can get.
How will online viewing be counted now that most networks
offer semi commercial free airing of the most popular shows?
Adam, it will be counted by the networks themselves, and for now, likely nowhere else.
Bill, I think NBC is serious. What’s the saying? One’s a fluke, two’s a trend? Check this out. Article about the lackluster start to the TV season. Both NBC and FOX shrugging off panic over ratings. And if you want a real shock, look at what FOX said about Terminator and Prison Break.
Preston Beckman, Fox’s executive vice president of strategic program planning and research, said the network is going to stick with the shows through the fourth quarter.
He said because “Terminator” and “Break” have continuing story arcs that aren’t close-ended episode-to-episode, it makes it difficult to recruit new viewers.
“These are niche shows,” he said.
The shows are also heavily watched using digital video recorders and on the Web, which makes it difficult to know what their real audience is, Mr. Beckman said.
Beckman’s right about it being difficult to recruit new viewers into serial shows, and he’s right about them being niche shows, but he’s full of crap about the rest. DVR viewing is measured and the networks know how many people watch online, at least via sanctioned channels. They also know what the C3 viewership is — commercial viewing, plus 3 days DVR viewing — which is allegedly how advertising is sold.
I agree with Robert, and that Beckman quote is *exactly* the kind of thing networks say before they cut a show’s life short.
Note all the sunshine spread by MRC about the results of the CW’s first two Sunday nights, and now Valentine and Easy Money have stopped production.
How come it has taken so long for America to measure ratings including those that recorded it to watch later? We’ve been doing that in the UK for years. We have the overnight figure and then the final rating that is published includes viewers that recorded a programme on vcr or dvr and watched it within one week of broadcast. We have some shows that get quite significant gains from their overnight figures when the final consolidated rating comes in.
Cameron,
We’re slow. Leave us alone!
(Why do you think a conservatively estimated 85% of decent American humor comes from Britain?)
Cameron, VCR and DVR ratings have always been measured. But they were never even slightly significant until the past few seasons, when DVR use shot up according to Nielsen.
Cameron, Probably for the same reason our cell phone systems are behind, we have 5x as many people spread over 35x the area. If Neilsen was only counting people in New England, it probably would have happened more quickly.
Cameron, here in the Colonies, Nielsen has been measuring and reporting DVR usage since January 2006. I think that qualifies as “for years”. We’ve had the numbers on our site since we started in September, 2007.
Why did it take you so long to notice that?
What is undoubtedly true is that the mainstream press (not this terrific website) keeps reporting, almost with glee, that certain shows are not as popular anymore (Heroes, Lost, Desperate Housewives, et. al) just based on the Neilsen overnight numbers compared year over year. While that still might be true in some cases (Heroes), the degree to which they gleefully report the fall-off is just simply inaccurate if they fail to account for the fact that millions of more homes have and use a DVR compared to the same time last year. The only true year-to-year comparisons I would trust to indicate the true popularity of a show, and whether it is in decline, is Live Plus 7 numbers compared year to year. A fan that actively chooses to DVR a show, to set a season pass, to find it on the schedule and make sure they DO NOT MISS THE SHOW, and watch it later when they can devote their full attention to the show, and even play it back over and over and over, is someone who should be measured and valued by the networks (and the press) instead of ignorantly ignored because they didnt watch the show live.
Cameron,
My apologies for my stupidity in this question, but I honestly don’t know thus I will ask. Are the ratings of which you speak Nielsen Corp.’s UK ratings? Or are other companies (GfK-TNS) the primary source of your data? I vaguely remember reading that TNS is the leading media ratings source in the UK. My memory could be fuzzy though.
Out of curiosity, how long does it take to see the final consolidated rating is available to the public? Is that within 8 days, 14 days, a month, etc…?
I’m interested in comparing U.S. television metrics to global markets.