Adding more homes is designed to improve stability across 46 metered markets, the ratings firm says.
Nielsen Boosts Sample Sizes In Top Markets
Nielsen announced Wednesday what it calls “a significant and broad expansion” to its ongoing sample improvement plan for local television markets.
Starting this year, Nielsen will increase the sample size in 15 Local People Meter markets. Five previously announced markets — Dallas, Washington, Houston, Miami and Denver — will see an increase of 200 homes this year. The two largest markets, New York and Los Angeles, will have their sample sizes increased by 300 homes next year.
In addition, the following eight markets will each have their sample size increased by 200 homes in 2015: Charlotte, St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta and Phoenix. These sample increases represent on average a 30% increase in sample size.
In the 31 set meter markets, Nielsen will expand the sample by 200 homes in each market over the next two years. The addition of these 6,200 homes represents an almost 50% increase in sample size across the set meter market footprint, Nielsen says.
“The sample expansion will increase the stability of the ratings and add utility for customers by improving representation for hard-to-reach demographics,” the company said. “Nielsen will leverage industry accepted methods and metering technologies that are already in use today, allowing the company to move quickly to market and permitting clients to see an immediate impact to stability. A rapidly changing consumer landscape requires a comprehensive approach that utilizes specialized methods in different markets. With the support of its clients, Nielsen will continue to tailor its approach in response to market and client needs.”
In its metered markets, Nielsen will rely on industry-accepted technology that “will have an immediate and positive impact for its clients,” it said, adding that in its smaller markets, the company is focused on improving both quantitative and qualitative offerings.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Earlier this year, Nielsen announced plans to install code readers in select diary markets and bring year-round, electronic measurement to those diary clients. Those plans are proceeding as announced, Nielsen said, and are an important component of its overall sample expansion strategy for local television.
Added said Matt O’Grady, Nielsen EVP managing director local media: “Nielsen is committed to continuous improvement of quality local television measurement now and into the future. With this supplemental expansion, our local media clients will see increased stability through expanded metered samples and electronic measurement to diary markets that never had metered samples.”
Comments (7)
Fred E Walker says:
May 29, 2014 at 8:05 am
This will accomplish what exactly? if you are exercising & wish to measure your heart rate, you take your pulse for 60 seconds. What Nielsen does is the equivalent of measuring heart rate for 3 seconds, then multiplying by 20 to get a reading, which would be wildly inaccurate. Now in SOME markets, they are measuring equivalent of 3.5 seconds. Billions of Ad Dollars spent utilizing this research in 2014 is insane.
Wagner Pereira says:
May 29, 2014 at 11:52 am
Clearly you do not understand what Nielsen does or anything about research, statistics and probability.
Fred E Walker says:
May 30, 2014 at 11:00 am
Yeah, I’ve only worked in advertising & media for 20+ years. Here is what I know. The smaller the sample size the more unstable the results, which was the point of my analogy. To have Nielsen report that shows/networks report 0 viewers in almost any market is flawed when it’s obvious people are watching (thus Direct Response clients would not advertise and paid programming folks would go out of business).. yet when you view a ratings report these days it’s full of 0s. It’s full of 0’s not because literally NO ONE Is watching, it’s because the sample size is so low and methodology so flawed that it can’t keep up with the fragmented media reality.
Wagner Pereira says:
June 4, 2014 at 6:00 am
Of course there are channels with literally no viewers. Unless on samples every television viewer in the USA, they will not capture every viewer. There is a reason the are called ESTIMATES! However, with audience numbers less than a 0.1 share, of course they will not always make it into Nielsen. Then again, with audiences that low, they really are not using Nielsen ratings to sell time anyway. If they actual pulled a real audience, they would not be doing direct response.
Rebecca Petit says:
May 29, 2014 at 9:59 am
a reaction to Rentrak. Competition is good!
Catherine Hahn says:
May 29, 2014 at 1:52 pm
Smackey nailed it. Stations have been complaining to Nielsen for years that their sample sizes were too small and that certain younger demos were not being given the credit they deserved. Nielsen shot back that statistically they were in the right and that we (the stations) could pay extra for more surveys in the DMA. Fear of competition has done what Nielsen’s clients could not! Competition is GOOD!
Kristine Melser says:
May 29, 2014 at 4:22 pm
Didn’t Vince Vaughn’s #2 NEWS MAN complain about the sample sizes too in Anchorman? Always glad to see problems persist for 40 years until a competitor realizes it.