Q: I had no idea that the Nielson Ratings were not calculated by monitoring our TVs but by viewers manually filling out “diaries.” Did you?
Eric: Ah, Yes because I’ve done it before. Years ago.
Q: Really? How come you never mentioned it when I always claimed it was somehow monitored through our cable providers?
Eric: When have you said that? I don’t remember. And they are just ONE survey company. Not the be-all, end-all. But probably the most popular. And how can they tap into everyone’s TV in the country? But on that note, it’s probably not too far away and most likely will be GOOGLE who will monitor everything we do in our own house.
(That’s definitely going to happen…)
Q: So they sent us $5. Do you actually think that’s worth it for keeping track of all our tv viewing for the entire week?
Eric: Well no. But it’s a good-faith effort of sorts. How many other surveys do you get paid for participating in? However, I guess I should be leary of that since my mom always said to never send cash thru the mail. And I do want to add here that you, my wife, after seeing the five one-dollar bills stated “you think they could have sent us unwrinkled, crisp dollar bills. These look like they’ve been through a few strippers’ hands.”
(I remember saying the “crisp” part but not the latter…)
Q: Now what were you yammering about that you want to ask your own five questions?
Eric: Yammering? I was stating that I want to have my own week where I ask myself my own five questions. I think yours are lame.
(Uh, rude. But okay. Go for it. Next week.)
Q: What aggravated you this week?
Eric: The CNBC moderators. I need not add more.
I was an official Nielson Family for two years. They came and hooked up a box to my TV and DVD player. It monitored everything I watched. I had to push a button on the box every half-hour to make sure I hadn’t fallen asleep or left the TV on while I was away. I also had to program the age and sex of any guests that were also watching at my house as well. I was paid $60 a year I think and if my TV had broken during that time they would have fixed it for free. If I went out of town for a week they would call to see if everything was OK. Because my satellite system doesn’t wake up when I turn on the TV, they would sometimes call to check why my TV was on, but they were not registering any program playing. It was creepy, but fun at the same time.
Wow. Sounds like you were a serious candidate! We were only given a week and we had to handwrite everything!! LOL. Thanks for filling us in on the “higher-end” process of the Nielson ratings Tony!