We are now into one of the three periods of the year that Hawaii television stations face ratings by Nielsen Media Research.
This is the time when you see all the news departments airing promotional ads about their series on, for example KITV’s “Smart Tips 4 Fighting Back” about saving money during the tough economic times.
Other stations air their series of stories in hopes that you will stay tuned to more than one newscast and add you to their ratings numbers.
Since Hawaii is an isolated and lower-ranked market (73th), we don’t have boxes hooked up to the TVs of select viewers. Instead, we have “diaries” sent to about 900 homes. What they record about what they watch will represent the state’s roughly 424,000 television households.
The thing about diaries is that people often forget to fill them out until it is time to turn them in. Viewers sometimes get things wrong, but we hope they are close.
The outcome several weeks after the sweeps is what the TV stations are waiting for: ratings. The ratings obviously determine what station is top-rated and lowest-rated. However, it is also crucial to how much the TV stations’ sales people can sell ads for. Shows like American Idol and Lost command top dollar for high ratings.
Some of the most critical ratings looked at involve each stations’ news programs. The ratings for those programs can mean a big difference in what each earns.
In the world of Internet and hundreds of cable stations the ratings world has become a different game. Expect to see more promo ads through May followed by more promos touting who is No. 1 in primetime and sign-on to sign-off with even more promos on the airwaves about which station’s newscast is No. 1. Expect to see those ads in June.
One of the best parts of ratings is all of the new episodes of your favorite programs. Prepare for a cliffhanger in Lost and the winner of Dancing with the Stars.
