Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Audience Metrics & Advertising Blog 2, Question 1 (Feb. 9th)
Given the changes in how audiences consume media, do ratings still
matter? Why or why not? And are there alternative ways to better track media
usage?Limit: 9 responses
Austin Pappolla (1/2) In my opinion, ratings still do matter when it comes to tracking media consumption. The modern day no longer has cable as its only major entertainment platform. On demand streaming services have taken over in the last decade so ratings are not quite as important as they used to be. According to Rick Porter of the Hollywood Reporter, streaming services don’t even fully keep track of ratings or release them to the public for the most part. There is not a true third party viewer measurement system for media beyond the TV or movie screen currently (Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement). Even without it, on demand streaming services still are performing very well with their subscription numbers. But ratings are necessary, nonetheless. It is important to note that many households still primarily use cable. In fact, in another article written by Rick Porter, the biggest shows on broadcast and cable still drag in more total viewing time than streaming services (What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming). It is easy for TV to keep track of what their viewers like and dislike due to all of the numbers and ratings that are accessible. It is a big reason why cable has been able to live on for long as it has. While streaming services have showed massive growth in the last couple of years, I can’t help but feel like they could potentially do even better with more rating systems at their disposal. Having more ways for platforms such as Netflix and Hulu to keep track of what their subscribers watch could lead to even more success. The more you know about your consumers, the better. If there is a trend with a certain genre, these companies can capitalize on that by adding more of that type of content. Not only could it lead to more subscribers, but also the retention of current supporters. Neilson appears to be on the verge of making this a possibility which I believe would greatly benefit this type of entertainment industry. As stated by Porter in the first article previously mentioned, Neilson is currently in the process of having a comprehensive, cross platform rating system come out next year and for it to be the standard way to measure ratings by 2024 (Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement).
Austin Pappolla (2/2) Right now Nielson already has a less complex system in place to keep track of the most popular shows on streaming platforms. They use a chart system that ranks popularity. It mostly only keeps track of viewership in minutes. In a Forbes article written by Megan duBois, she states that the Mandolorian was the top viewed show according to the Neilson ratings from December 14th through the 20th (duBois). It was the first time a show outside of Netflix had achieved this, showing that there are certain shows and genres that other platforms might be able to take advantage of in order to draw more interest to their platform. If the rating system can become more comprehensive and give more information, then maybe it could become a more useful system for these businesses. DuBois made it clear that the chart is very limited in its present state. It is only keeping track of viewership in the United States and exclusively on TV sets. No other countries or devices such as computers and mobile devices are being kept track of (duBois). Once these types of measurements are able to properly be recorded, it could lead to a boom in the streaming service industry, hence why I believe ratings are so important.
Works Cited duBois, Megan. “‘The Mandalorian’ Takes The Top Spot On The Nielsen Weekly U.S. Streaming Chart.” Forbes, 14 Jan. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/megandubois/2021/01/14/the-mandalorian-takes-the-top-spot-on-the-nielsen-weekly-us-streaming-chart/?sh=306b57281905. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021. Porter, Rick. "Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement." The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Dec. 2020, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nielsen-sets-timetable-for-cross-platform-media-measurement. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021. ---. "What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?" The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.
As COVID-19 impacted everyone’s lives, consumers spent more and more online virtually interacting with others and watching content as a result of social distancing at hone. Industries are now reacting to the impact of this pandemic along the different and new behaviors of customers. I believe that rating is still pretty important because it shows how well the performance of the media content is doing, to develop and assess techniques relevant to replace of the content, and to track media consumption. Policymakers are also using the rating data to analyze the complexities of the advertising industry and to build and test analytical insights on the dynamics of how consumers use the media and how media outlets manage the audience marketplace. I believe it is also important because for example, if a TV show has a really high rating, it is going to attract more interest to new consumers.
Streaming services have been very used in these times because of COVID-19. Streaming services do not really measure the ratings because they measure the consumption data with the amount of subscriptions they have or lose, or how well a show does with how many people watch it (like the new feature of the 10 ten movies/shows on Netflix show how well these contents do). For cable, it is more important to have ratings because of how more people turn to streaming services, mobile devices and other portable screens. Cable instead keep track of what is being watched, how long people watch it for, how many people are watching and what devices are used. Cable and broadcasters are not like the big streaming platforms like Netflix. They are still trying to live up to their reputation and find shows that have a wide reach. An example that ratings have helped with cable, is the usage of news channels. Information on the effects of COVID-19 has grown at a complex place over this past year, creating a sense of urgency to learn as much as possible about it, and cable news have been real helpful with giving the information needed. Cable news’ ratings have doubled because of it. Cable also uses ads to make money of what people watch. But this hasn’t really helped enough to make as much money they needed. But the higher the shows did in the ratings, the higher advertisers could be paid by the networks, and the more profits they would make.
Work cited
Morgan , JP. “Media Consumption in the Age of COVID-19.” Jpmorgan.com, Jpmorgan, 1 May 2020, www.jpmorgan.com/insights/research/media-consumption.
Narula, Kritika. “Why Nielsen Ratings Are an Outdated System for Streaming Services.” Film Daily, 4 Sept. 2020, filmdaily.co/news/nielsen-ratings/.
Porter, Rick. “If Nielsen Measured Linear TV and Streaming the Same Way.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming.
Gabriela Alvares Audience Metrics & Advertising Blog 2
Previously I had not thought very much about ratings, and I find it interesting in general that there is data on how many people watch a specific movie or tv show. From my perspective as a consumer, it indicates to me how popular a program or movie is and the potential for a sequel or a new season. However, regarding the importance of ratings to companies, my opinion is that they still matter because they will provide information on the popularity of streaming services in general as well as which types of content to increase or decrease to maintain or improve audience levels.
The article “Why Video on Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon” (McClintock, 2021) talks about how box offices struggled with the pandemic and how streaming online movies online in addition to normal streaming content became the solution to the problem of movie distribution. Because of projected long-term effects on traditional movie viewing, it has become necessary to change the audience metrics to focus on streaming audiences rather than ticket sales. Screen Engine/ASI (a research firm) began in April to interview 3,000 people every week on their consumption of streamed content, information that they believe will be valuable to media companies. I agree with Screen Engine/ASI’s Mark Orne that it is increasingly important to track streaming audiences so companies can get a better sense of how the new (and most likely continuing) interest in streaming rather than theater-viewing can be used to their advantage.
The article “TV Long View: What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?” (Porter, 2020) talked about the way Nielsen measured streaming service use as opposed to traditional TV shows which are only on-air for a specific time. The differences are due to the fact that streaming services need different information as opposed to traditional shows. Streaming services want to know how many total minutes people will watch something because it is a good way to see what people are interested in and make decisions about keeping specific shows on the platform. If a single program generates an average of 1.73 billion minutes of viewing time, the company is more likely to keep it on the service for longer. However, traditional networks measure audiences by the number of people watching a program at the same time, leading to lower statistics, but actually averaging out to a much closer amount of viewing time to streaming services than is obvious. The article demonstrates the importance of audience measuring to companies, but also highlights the dangers of comparing statistics that companies with both traditional network TV and streaming content should be aware of when determining if they should focus on one or the other.
My third article, “Netflix Says 'Bridgerton' Is Its Biggest Series Ever” (Porter, 2021) is a case study for how different audience metrics can be used to compare the success of different shows and how Netflix defines a successful series. The new show “Brigerton” had over 82 million member accounts access the program in the first 28 days after its release, which breaks the previous record of 76 million in the same time period for the series “The Witcher”. However, the latter show still holds the record for the highest percentage of total viewing households, 45%, while “Bridgerton” has 40%. These differences demonstrate the potential usefulness of having more than one metric to judge a TV series or movie’s success, as well as the relevance of ratings to streaming services overall.
Gabriela Alvares Audience Metrics & Advertising Blog 2
Works Cited
McClintock, Pamela and Rick Porter. “Why Video on Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon.” The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Jan. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-video-on-demand-data-wont-be-public-any-time-soon. Accessed 5 Feb 2021.
Porter, Rick. “Netflix Says 'Bridgerton' Is Its Biggest Series Ever.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflix-bridgerton-biggest-series-ever. Accessed 5 Feb 2021.
Porter, Rick. “TV Long View: What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-doesstreaming. Accessed 5 Feb 2021.
I’ve always believed that ratings don’t matter. Some of the best shows are uncovered gems filled with talent but remain unappreciated. I’ve thought that just because a show has low ratings doesn’t mean that it’s bad or undeserving of being advertised to gain more fans and viewers. But with the way this industry functions, it’s ratings that measure which shows get the spotlight and which don’t. As Variety says, “As long as revenue from advertisers remains part of the TV business network, ratings will still matter” (Adalin). And the TV business network isn’t going away any time soon as demonstrated by the different articles provided. While many believe that streaming is the more popular way to view content, this is untrue. The Hollywood Reporter compares the numbers directly. When combining streaming and live television, eight live shows make the top 10 list in viewing numbers. Most of these are either news or sports, and both of these categories have yet to really be broadcast on any major streaming service and secureh a large following. And even with news and sports out of the picture, “a middling show like NBC’s Oct. 7 airing of Weakest Link racks up almost 270 million minutes of viewing time over a week” (Porter). So it’s not like streaming has suddenly taken over the game. Even an average show on live television can easily compete with streaming shows based on these statistics. However, all of this may be up in the air. There is an important statistic that is being left out of how ratings have been measured, and this is soon subject to change. Nielsen has announced it will be changing how it tracks ratings, and this means the business model could shift. “Nielsen says it expects the measurement to become the industry standard for buying and selling ad inventory” (Porter). The company that sets precedent knows that its shifting model will have a large impact on the advertisement industry, and it is important to note what exactly this entails. Previously, Nielsen never measured what device was used to watch a show. It only measured shows viewed on a TV screen. This is crucial data, as nearly all streaming services can be watched on a laptop and phone. All of this data and view time has been excluded in previous reported data — and, more important, in the hands of advertisers. When looking at Netflix’s data, 30% of their viewers watch on devices other than a TV (Kafka). That 30% is being left out of Nielsen’s reports. They could be the key to showing if live shows can still compete. So at the time, ratings still matter and determine what gets to have advertisements and what does not. And even if the measurement system does change, it still will determine how the industry moves forward with advertisements. If anything, ratings matter the most right now. They will determine if the future will be defined by live television, or if streaming has taken its place.
Works Cited Adalian, Josef. “TV Ratings Are Way Down, But Does It Even Matter?” Vulture, Vulture, 15 May 2017, www.vulture.com/2017/05/tv-ratings-are-way-down-but-does-it-even-matter.html#:~:text=As%20long%20as%20revenue%20from,business%20model%2C%20ratings%20will%20matter.&text=But%20since%20the%20whole%20reason,important%20those%20Nielsen%20numbers%20are.
Kafka, Peter. “You Can Watch Netflix on Any Screen You Want, but You're Probably Watching It on a TV.” Vox, Vox, 8 Mar. 2018, www.vox.com/2018/3/7/17094610/netflix-70-percent-tv-viewing-statistics.
Porter, Rick. “If Nielsen Measured Linear TV and Streaming the Same Way.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming.
Porter, Rick. “Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement.” The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Dec. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nielsen-sets-timetable-for-cross-platform-media-measurement.
Rachel Feliciano Professor Burns MSS-495 February 9, 2021
Blog Post 2 Audience Metrics & Advertising (1/2)
Given the changes in how audiences consume media in my opinion, ratings do not matter. The reason ratings do not matter to me would be due to the tracking of views. We can see how many people have viewed the video, movie, or TV show whereas the ratings that transfer to likes and dislikes only come into play for the sake of how well the content did. At the end of the day, the views are what matter and the views are what is bringing in the money. We can track media usage by how many people clicked on that video to view it, it shows the number of users who are interested in that specific content rather than tracking to see whether they liked the content or not. Most people do not go out of their way to like content which is why there is always a partial percentage of viewers who dislike or like the content.
Porter's article “What if Nielson Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?”, shows the capability of being able to account for the views you are receiving rather than the likes you are receiving. The views make it clear whether the audience is to like the content or not. Although the charts did not apply to how many viewers but how many minutes viewed, this algorithm was able to benefit their account for streaming and linear rankings rather than the likes they may or not get.
From all different platforms, we can consume media in the easiest and fastest ways possible. Given the changes due to the pandemic, we are now able to get our hands on box office movies that are just coming out in theatres, whether it is from streaming services or on-demand portals. In McClintock and Porter’s article “Why Video On Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon”, there is a lot of discussion as to how viewings of box office content are being misread due to the withholding data of content distributed through on-demand and streaming services. The article quotes Mark Orne who heads Screen Engine/ASI’s Covid era service saying, ‘I think it's important for everyone to know what the landscape is, and not only which movies are being more viewed than others, but what is being contributed to their success and who is watching them and how they are finding out about them.’ Mark Orne’s comment shows that there is a lot more to the views than just tallying who saw what. The views upon each box office movie dive deeper as to who, how, and why. Orne believes that with the amount of streaming content coming out, audiences will not be able to see what new box office content will be released.
On a platform like Instagram, likes may be more vital for some. The app is making its way to have a lot more content like items you can purchase, funny videos, and influencers who give you their reviews on items. Now there has been a slight change in making likes on Instagram private to the user who posted, in Chozick’s article she talks about the man Adam Mosseri was the reason behind eliminating likes on Instagram. It creates a different atmosphere for users to not obsess over how many likes they received on their posts. Mosseri is already aware the platform has over one billion users on it, so why would eliminating likes hurt Instagram? It wouldn’t. Eliminating likes on Instagram shows it can only benefit someone like an influencer who is interested in how their content is going, but it can also benefit the average user in another way by decreasing their chances of constantly looking at the number of likes they're gaining. This is why it was more of an issue for the average user rather than an influencer because “Concerns spread beyond Instagram’s corporate walls to its most obsessive users” (Chozick). Instagram can track their audience in many ways and they are aware of how much success they are gaining from their platform but only based on “views” or amount of users contributing to the app still running today. This allows eliminating likes to be a solution for their users rather than a problem because they are more focused on tracking the population of users rather than the posts that are most liked or not.
Ratings and likes don't necessarily factor in how the media or content did. What tends to factor in the most is the number of views that the media was able to consume. Executives invested in these companies who distribute media would probably like to know how the content is doing, but they will initially figure out whether it is a success by the views they start to see.
Work Cited
Chozick, Amy. “This Is the Guy Who's Taking Away the Likes.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/business/instagram-likes.html.
McClintock, Pamela and Rock Porter. “Why Video on Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon.” The Hollywood Reporter 28 Jan. 2021.
Porter, Rick. “What if Nielson Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?” The Hollywood Reporter 7 Nov. 2020.
When it comes to ratings for TV and movies, I don’t believe that ratings matter that much. If there's a movie or TV show that I am interested in watching, I might look up on Google a quick rating on it, but most of the time I wouldn’t change my mind. There have been tons of movies and TV that I have seen that may have been rated bad, but I enjoyed. On the advertising side of it however, the widespread usage of streaming services and videos on demand, makes ratings on traditional TV not matter as much anymore, and advertisers need new ways to measure metrics on streaming services. In the period between March and August of 2020, digital media has had over 4 trillion more minutes of viewership compared to linear TV (Porter).
There has been no third party program to comprehensively measure nonlinear metrics however Nielson will change that with their new program, Nielsen One (Porter). This new tool will be vital in helping advertisers tap into the massive digital market that advertisers are gunning to get into. What is interesting though in the article “TV Long View: What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?”, it shows that streaming and linear TV are a lot closer in viewership then it seems. Digital media relies on total minutes watched of the show to figure out how popular it is, while with traditional TV it is much different. They rely on the amount of people watching it at one time to figure out how they are doing. When the Hollywood Reporter did their study on this, they were able to find that even though digital media numbers look much higher due to how they are measured once you even the playing field and look at the data digital and linear TV are much clover then it seems.
In an article in Vulture, “TV Ratings Are Way Down, But Does It Even Matter Anymore?” by Josef Adalian, it says how ratings are the most important thing in determining how much to charge for advertising, but in a world where traditional TV viewership is fading, ratings are no longer the most important thing to bring in revenue. Networks will continue to play shows that have bad ratings because of the other ways they can benefit from these shows. Rights to TV shows can be sold to streaming services, or in other markets around the world, making ratings and the ad revenue that comes from them not as important.
I think that overall ratings don’t matter as much to me personally when I consume media, but in the media business it depends. If Nielson is able to accurately display ratings and metrics for streaming services then maybe these streaming ratings will along advertisers and streaming companies to profit off of ads like linear TV always had. But with linear TV, I don’t believe that ratings matter as much any more. Especially after reading the Vulture article, I found it interesting that linear TV has found ways to make money despite ratings being down.
Works cited Adalian, Josef. “TV Ratings Are Way Down, But Does It Even Matter?” Vulture, Vulture, 15 May 2017, www.vulture.com/2017/05/tv-ratings-are-way-down-but-does-it-even-matter.html#:~:text=As%20long%20as%20revenue%20from,business%20model%2C%20ratings%20will%20matter.&text=But%20since%20the%20whole%20reason,important%20those%20Nielsen%20numbers%20are.
Porter, Rick. “If Nielsen Measured Linear TV and Streaming the Same Way.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming.
Porter, Rick. “Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement.” The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Dec. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nielsen-sets-timetable-for-cross-platform-media-measurement.
Austin Pappolla (1/2)
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, ratings still do matter when it comes to tracking media consumption. The modern day no longer has cable as its only major entertainment platform. On demand streaming services have taken over in the last decade so ratings are not quite as important as they used to be. According to Rick Porter of the Hollywood Reporter, streaming services don’t even fully keep track of ratings or release them to the public for the most part. There is not a true third party viewer measurement system for media beyond the TV or movie screen currently (Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement). Even without it, on demand streaming services still are performing very well with their subscription numbers. But ratings are necessary, nonetheless. It is important to note that many households still primarily use cable. In fact, in another article written by Rick Porter, the biggest shows on broadcast and cable still drag in more total viewing time than streaming services (What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming). It is easy for TV to keep track of what their viewers like and dislike due to all of the numbers and ratings that are accessible. It is a big reason why cable has been able to live on for long as it has. While streaming services have showed massive growth in the last couple of years, I can’t help but feel like they could potentially do even better with more rating systems at their disposal. Having more ways for platforms such as Netflix and Hulu to keep track of what their subscribers watch could lead to even more success. The more you know about your consumers, the better. If there is a trend with a certain genre, these companies can capitalize on that by adding more of that type of content. Not only could it lead to more subscribers, but also the retention of current supporters. Neilson appears to be on the verge of making this a possibility which I believe would greatly benefit this type of entertainment industry. As stated by Porter in the first article previously mentioned, Neilson is currently in the process of having a comprehensive, cross platform rating system come out next year and for it to be the standard way to measure ratings by 2024 (Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement).
Austin Pappolla (2/2)
ReplyDeleteRight now Nielson already has a less complex system in place to keep track of the most popular shows on streaming platforms. They use a chart system that ranks popularity. It mostly only keeps track of viewership in minutes. In a Forbes article written by Megan duBois, she states that the Mandolorian was the top viewed show according to the Neilson ratings from December 14th through the 20th (duBois). It was the first time a show outside of Netflix had achieved this, showing that there are certain shows and genres that other platforms might be able to take advantage of in order to draw more interest to their platform. If the rating system can become more comprehensive and give more information, then maybe it could become a more useful system for these businesses. DuBois made it clear that the chart is very limited in its present state. It is only keeping track of viewership in the United States and exclusively on TV sets. No other countries or devices such as computers and mobile devices are being kept track of (duBois). Once these types of measurements are able to properly be recorded, it could lead to a boom in the streaming service industry, hence why I believe ratings are so important.
Works Cited
duBois, Megan. “‘The Mandalorian’ Takes The Top Spot On The Nielsen Weekly U.S. Streaming Chart.” Forbes, 14 Jan. 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/megandubois/2021/01/14/the-mandalorian-takes-the-top-spot-on-the-nielsen-weekly-us-streaming-chart/?sh=306b57281905. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.
Porter, Rick. "Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement." The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Dec. 2020, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nielsen-sets-timetable-for-cross-platform-media-measurement. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.
---. "What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?" The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming. Accessed 4 Feb. 2021.
Zeinab Dore (1/2)
ReplyDeleteAs COVID-19 impacted everyone’s lives, consumers spent more and more online virtually interacting with others and watching content as a result of social distancing at hone. Industries are now reacting to the impact of this pandemic along the different and new behaviors of customers. I believe that rating is still pretty important because it shows how well the performance of the media content is doing, to develop and assess techniques relevant to replace of the content, and to track media consumption. Policymakers are also using the rating data to analyze the complexities of the advertising industry and to build and test analytical insights on the dynamics of how consumers use the media and how media outlets manage the audience marketplace. I believe it is also important because for example, if a TV show has a really high rating, it is going to attract more interest to new consumers.
Zeinab 2/2
DeleteStreaming services have been very used in these times because of COVID-19. Streaming services do not really measure the ratings because they measure the consumption data with the amount of subscriptions they have or lose, or how well a show does with how many people watch it (like the new feature of the 10 ten movies/shows on Netflix show how well these contents do). For cable, it is more important to have ratings because of how more people turn to streaming services, mobile devices and other portable screens. Cable instead keep track of what is being watched, how long people watch it for, how many people are watching and what devices are used. Cable and broadcasters are not like the big streaming platforms like Netflix.
They are still trying to live up to their reputation and find shows that have a wide reach.
An example that ratings have helped with cable, is the usage of news channels. Information on the effects of COVID-19 has grown at a complex place over this past year, creating a sense of urgency to learn as much as possible about it, and cable news have been real helpful with giving the information needed. Cable news’ ratings have doubled because of it.
Cable also uses ads to make money of what people watch. But this hasn’t really helped enough to make as much money they needed. But the higher the shows did in the ratings, the higher advertisers could be paid by the networks, and the more profits they would make.
Work cited
Morgan , JP. “Media Consumption in the Age of COVID-19.” Jpmorgan.com, Jpmorgan, 1 May 2020, www.jpmorgan.com/insights/research/media-consumption.
Narula, Kritika. “Why Nielsen Ratings Are an Outdated System for Streaming Services.” Film Daily, 4 Sept. 2020, filmdaily.co/news/nielsen-ratings/.
Porter, Rick. “If Nielsen Measured Linear TV and Streaming the Same Way.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming.
Gabriela Alvares
ReplyDeleteAudience Metrics & Advertising Blog 2
Previously I had not thought very much about ratings, and I find it interesting in general that there is data on how many people watch a specific movie or tv show. From my perspective as a consumer, it indicates to me how popular a program or movie is and the potential for a sequel or a new season. However, regarding the importance of ratings to companies, my opinion is that they still matter because they will provide information on the popularity of streaming services in general as well as which types of content to increase or decrease to maintain or improve audience levels.
The article “Why Video on Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon” (McClintock, 2021) talks about how box offices struggled with the pandemic and how streaming online movies online in addition to normal streaming content became the solution to the problem of movie distribution. Because of projected long-term effects on traditional movie viewing, it has become necessary to change the audience metrics to focus on streaming audiences rather than ticket sales. Screen Engine/ASI (a research firm) began in April to interview 3,000 people every week on their consumption of streamed content, information that they believe will be valuable to media companies. I agree with Screen Engine/ASI’s Mark Orne that it is increasingly important to track streaming audiences so companies can get a better sense of how the new (and most likely continuing) interest in streaming rather than theater-viewing can be used to their advantage.
The article “TV Long View: What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?” (Porter, 2020) talked about the way Nielsen measured streaming service use as opposed to traditional TV shows which are only on-air for a specific time. The differences are due to the fact that streaming services need different information as opposed to traditional shows. Streaming services want to know how many total minutes people will watch something because it is a good way to see what people are interested in and make decisions about keeping specific shows on the platform. If a single program generates an average of 1.73 billion minutes of viewing time, the company is more likely to keep it on the service for longer. However, traditional networks measure audiences by the number of people watching a program at the same time, leading to lower statistics, but actually averaging out to a much closer amount of viewing time to streaming services than is obvious. The article demonstrates the importance of audience measuring to companies, but also highlights the dangers of comparing statistics that companies with both traditional network TV and streaming content should be aware of when determining if they should focus on one or the other.
My third article, “Netflix Says 'Bridgerton' Is Its Biggest Series Ever” (Porter, 2021) is a case study for how different audience metrics can be used to compare the success of different shows and how Netflix defines a successful series. The new show “Brigerton” had over 82 million member accounts access the program in the first 28 days after its release, which breaks the previous record of 76 million in the same time period for the series “The Witcher”. However, the latter show still holds the record for the highest percentage of total viewing households, 45%, while “Bridgerton” has 40%. These differences demonstrate the potential usefulness of having more than one metric to judge a TV series or movie’s success, as well as the relevance of ratings to streaming services overall.
Gabriela Alvares
ReplyDeleteAudience Metrics & Advertising Blog 2
Works Cited
McClintock, Pamela and Rick Porter. “Why Video on Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon.” The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Jan. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-video-on-demand-data-wont-be-public-any-time-soon. Accessed 5 Feb 2021.
Porter, Rick. “Netflix Says 'Bridgerton' Is Its Biggest Series Ever.” The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/netflix-bridgerton-biggest-series-ever. Accessed 5 Feb 2021.
Porter, Rick. “TV Long View: What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2021, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-doesstreaming. Accessed 5 Feb 2021.
I’ve always believed that ratings don’t matter. Some of the best shows are uncovered gems filled with talent but remain unappreciated. I’ve thought that just because a show has low ratings doesn’t mean that it’s bad or undeserving of being advertised to gain more fans and viewers. But with the way this industry functions, it’s ratings that measure which shows get the spotlight and which don’t. As Variety says, “As long as revenue from advertisers remains part of the TV business network, ratings will still matter” (Adalin).
ReplyDeleteAnd the TV business network isn’t going away any time soon as demonstrated by the different articles provided. While many believe that streaming is the more popular way to view content, this is untrue. The Hollywood Reporter compares the numbers directly. When combining streaming and live television, eight live shows make the top 10 list in viewing numbers. Most of these are either news or sports, and both of these categories have yet to really be broadcast on any major streaming service and secureh a large following. And even with news and sports out of the picture, “a middling show like NBC’s Oct. 7 airing of Weakest Link racks up almost 270 million minutes of viewing time over a week” (Porter). So it’s not like streaming has suddenly taken over the game. Even an average show on live television can easily compete with streaming shows based on these statistics.
However, all of this may be up in the air. There is an important statistic that is being left out of how ratings have been measured, and this is soon subject to change. Nielsen has announced it will be changing how it tracks ratings, and this means the business model could shift. “Nielsen says it expects the measurement to become the industry standard for buying and selling ad inventory” (Porter). The company that sets precedent knows that its shifting model will have a large impact on the advertisement industry, and it is important to note what exactly this entails.
Previously, Nielsen never measured what device was used to watch a show. It only measured shows viewed on a TV screen. This is crucial data, as nearly all streaming services can be watched on a laptop and phone. All of this data and view time has been excluded in previous reported data — and, more important, in the hands of advertisers. When looking at Netflix’s data, 30% of their viewers watch on devices other than a TV (Kafka). That 30% is being left out of Nielsen’s reports. They could be the key to showing if live shows can still compete.
So at the time, ratings still matter and determine what gets to have advertisements and what does not. And even if the measurement system does change, it still will determine how the industry moves forward with advertisements. If anything, ratings matter the most right now. They will determine if the future will be defined by live television, or if streaming has taken its place.
This is written by Sydney Reynolds!
DeleteWorks Cited
Adalian, Josef. “TV Ratings Are Way Down, But Does It Even Matter?” Vulture,
Vulture, 15 May 2017, www.vulture.com/2017/05/tv-ratings-are-way-down-but-does-it-even-matter.html#:~:text=As%20long%20as%20revenue%20from,business%20model%2C%20ratings%20will%20matter.&text=But%20since%20the%20whole%20reason,important%20those%20Nielsen%20numbers%20are.
Kafka, Peter. “You Can Watch Netflix on Any Screen You Want, but You're
Probably Watching It on a TV.” Vox, Vox, 8 Mar. 2018, www.vox.com/2018/3/7/17094610/netflix-70-percent-tv-viewing-statistics.
Porter, Rick. “If Nielsen Measured Linear TV and Streaming the Same Way.” The
Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming.
Porter, Rick. “Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement.”
The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Dec. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nielsen-sets-timetable-for-cross-platform-media-measurement.
Rachel Feliciano
ReplyDeleteProfessor Burns
MSS-495
February 9, 2021
Blog Post 2 Audience Metrics & Advertising (1/2)
Given the changes in how audiences consume media in my opinion, ratings do not matter. The reason ratings do not matter to me would be due to the tracking of views. We can see how many people have viewed the video, movie, or TV show whereas the ratings that transfer to likes and dislikes only come into play for the sake of how well the content did. At the end of the day, the views are what matter and the views are what is bringing in the money. We can track media usage by how many people clicked on that video to view it, it shows the number of users who are interested in that specific content rather than tracking to see whether they liked the content or not. Most people do not go out of their way to like content which is why there is always a partial percentage of viewers who dislike or like the content.
Porter's article “What if Nielson Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?”, shows the capability of being able to account for the views you are receiving rather than the likes you are receiving. The views make it clear whether the audience is to like the content or not. Although the charts did not apply to how many viewers but how many minutes viewed, this algorithm was able to benefit their account for streaming and linear rankings rather than the likes they may or not get.
From all different platforms, we can consume media in the easiest and fastest ways possible. Given the changes due to the pandemic, we are now able to get our hands on box office movies that are just coming out in theatres, whether it is from streaming services or on-demand portals. In McClintock and Porter’s article “Why Video On Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon”, there is a lot of discussion as to how viewings of box office content are being misread due to the withholding data of content distributed through on-demand and streaming services. The article quotes Mark Orne who heads Screen Engine/ASI’s Covid era service saying, ‘I think it's important for everyone to know what the landscape is, and not only which movies are being more viewed than others, but what is being contributed to their success and who is watching them and how they are finding out about them.’ Mark Orne’s comment shows that there is a lot more to the views than just tallying who saw what. The views upon each box office movie dive deeper as to who, how, and why. Orne believes that with the amount of streaming content coming out, audiences will not be able to see what new box office content will be released.
Blog Post 2 Audience Metrics & Advertising (2/2)
ReplyDeleteOn a platform like Instagram, likes may be more vital for some. The app is making its way to have a lot more content like items you can purchase, funny videos, and influencers who give you their reviews on items. Now there has been a slight change in making likes on Instagram private to the user who posted, in Chozick’s article she talks about the man Adam Mosseri was the reason behind eliminating likes on Instagram. It creates a different atmosphere for users to not obsess over how many likes they received on their posts. Mosseri is already aware the platform has over one billion users on it, so why would eliminating likes hurt Instagram? It wouldn’t. Eliminating likes on Instagram shows it can only benefit someone like an influencer who is interested in how their content is going, but it can also benefit the average user in another way by decreasing their chances of constantly looking at the number of likes they're gaining. This is why it was more of an issue for the average user rather than an influencer because “Concerns spread beyond Instagram’s corporate walls to its most obsessive users” (Chozick). Instagram can track their audience in many ways and they are aware of how much success they are gaining from their platform but only based on “views” or amount of users contributing to the app still running today. This allows eliminating likes to be a solution for their users rather than a problem because they are more focused on tracking the population of users rather than the posts that are most liked or not.
Ratings and likes don't necessarily factor in how the media or content did. What tends to factor in the most is the number of views that the media was able to consume. Executives invested in these companies who distribute media would probably like to know how the content is doing, but they will initially figure out whether it is a success by the views they start to see.
Work Cited
Chozick, Amy. “This Is the Guy Who's Taking Away the Likes.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/business/instagram-likes.html.
McClintock, Pamela and Rock Porter. “Why Video on Demand Data Won’t Be Public Any Time Soon.” The Hollywood Reporter 28 Jan. 2021.
Porter, Rick. “What if Nielson Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?” The Hollywood Reporter 7 Nov. 2020.
When it comes to ratings for TV and movies, I don’t believe that ratings matter that much. If there's a movie or TV show that I am interested in watching, I might look up on Google a quick rating on it, but most of the time I wouldn’t change my mind. There have been tons of movies and TV that I have seen that may have been rated bad, but I enjoyed. On the advertising side of it however, the widespread usage of streaming services and videos on demand, makes ratings on traditional TV not matter as much anymore, and advertisers need new ways to measure metrics on streaming services. In the period between March and August of 2020, digital media has had over 4 trillion more minutes of viewership compared to linear TV (Porter).
ReplyDeleteThere has been no third party program to comprehensively measure nonlinear metrics however Nielson will change that with their new program, Nielsen One (Porter). This new tool will be vital in helping advertisers tap into the massive digital market that advertisers are gunning to get into. What is interesting though in the article “TV Long View: What If Nielsen Measured Linear TV the Way It Does Streaming?”, it shows that streaming and linear TV are a lot closer in viewership then it seems. Digital media relies on total minutes watched of the show to figure out how popular it is, while with traditional TV it is much different. They rely on the amount of people watching it at one time to figure out how they are doing. When the Hollywood Reporter did their study on this, they were able to find that even though digital media numbers look much higher due to how they are measured once you even the playing field and look at the data digital and linear TV are much clover then it seems.
In an article in Vulture, “TV Ratings Are Way Down, But Does It Even Matter Anymore?” by Josef Adalian, it says how ratings are the most important thing in determining how much to charge for advertising, but in a world where traditional TV viewership is fading, ratings are no longer the most important thing to bring in revenue. Networks will continue to play shows that have bad ratings because of the other ways they can benefit from these shows. Rights to TV shows can be sold to streaming services, or in other markets around the world, making ratings and the ad revenue that comes from them not as important.
I think that overall ratings don’t matter as much to me personally when I consume media, but in the media business it depends. If Nielson is able to accurately display ratings and metrics for streaming services then maybe these streaming ratings will along advertisers and streaming companies to profit off of ads like linear TV always had. But with linear TV, I don’t believe that ratings matter as much any more. Especially after reading the Vulture article, I found it interesting that linear TV has found ways to make money despite ratings being down.
Works cited
DeleteAdalian, Josef. “TV Ratings Are Way Down, But Does It Even Matter?” Vulture, Vulture, 15 May 2017, www.vulture.com/2017/05/tv-ratings-are-way-down-but-does-it-even-matter.html#:~:text=As%20long%20as%20revenue%20from,business%20model%2C%20ratings%20will%20matter.&text=But%20since%20the%20whole%20reason,important%20those%20Nielsen%20numbers%20are.
Porter, Rick. “If Nielsen Measured Linear TV and Streaming the Same Way.” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-long-view-what-if-nielsen-measured-linear-tv-the-way-it-does-streaming.
Porter, Rick. “Nielsen Sets Timetable for Cross-Platform Media Measurement.” The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Dec. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nielsen-sets-timetable-for-cross-platform-media-measurement.