Nielsen Ratings

Nielsen’s sampling (collection of data) has varied over decades. It’s intent on obtaining a rough estimate of viewers of a specific TV show during a specific time. From paper diaries, People Meters via telephone lines and many more advanced methods. Below follows an example of ratings and share, how they are calculated and what they mean. Keep in mind this only gives a rough estimate of total viewership.

• The Christy premiere scored a 17.7 rating.
• There were 94.2 million TV households in 1994
• A 1.0 rating or in layman’s terms, nearly 1% of 94.2 million TV households equals 942,000.
• The math would be 942,000×17.7= 16,885,000 viewers

• The Christy premiere had a share of 29.
• Obviously of the 94.2 million TV households, not everyone was watching TV.
• So at the time, 29% of Americans in front of their TV from 8:00-10:00pm, were watching Christy.

• Executive producer Ken Wales stated that 40 million people watched the debut of Christy. The news journal ‘Broadcast and Cable’ for the broadcasting industry states 16,885,000 million viewers. There is a discrepancy among the two. However cable was not fully adopted in 1994 and Ken Wales was more invested with the series.