How are People Meters used in Nielsen's National sample?

NOTE: The excerpt below is from Scientific American Magazine and explains how the People Meter is used in Nielsen Media Research's national sample. The article was written by Ed Aust, senior vice president of engineering and technology for Nielsen Media Research.
Reprinted from 1996 edition.

In 1936, engineer Arthur C. Nielsen Sr., attended a demonstration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of a mechanical device that could keep a record of the station to which a radio was tuned at any given moment. Nielsen bought the technology practically on the spot and six year later launched the Nielsen Radio Index, which analyzed the listening habits 800 homes. Later, he adapted the same technology to the medium of television, creating a ratings system that nearly all American broadcasters use today to help determine the popularity of their programs.

Over the years, Nielsen Media Research has used several methods to collect viewing information, including surveys and volunteer diaries. In 1986 the company supplanted these with an electronic device called a People Meter. The meter is now connected to televisions and telephone lines in about 5,000 households throughout the U.S.

Nielsen households are selected from a sample that is statistically representative of the television-viewing population. Each household receives nominal compensation-about 50 dollars and occasional gifts-for their cooperation. In order to keep the sample representative, viewers can participate for only two years.

As they watch TV, volunteers press buttons to indicate their presence. The People Meter records the gender and age of each viewer, as well as the time spent watching each channel frequency. Every night the device transmits that household’s data by modem to Nielsen Media Research’s central computer in Florida, which assembles the data into a ratings database.

To meet the changing needs of broadcasters and sponsors, the technology continues to evolve. In 1986 Nielsen Media Research introduced a system that uses computerized pattern recognition to identify particular commercials as they are broadcast. Future versions of the People Meter now under development will monitor codes embedded into digital TV signals to verify which programs are on the air. They will also use image-recognition computers to identify viewers the moment they hit the couch.

The Nielsen People Meter is programmed with the age and gender of each household member. Viewers enter their code when they begin watching; visitors can log their presence as well. The meter records which channels are tuned by sensing the frequencies emitted by the cable box, TV or videocassette recorder.

	Every Day, in some 5,000 homes throughout the U.S., People Meters gather data on who watched what, when and for how long. At Staggered Times throughout the night, all the meters call Nielsen Media Research’s mainframe computer system in Dunedin, Fla., and transfer their daily viewing records via modem. By Morning, Nielsen Media Research has assembled and processed its sample of the nation’s viewing behavior. TV executives and other subscribers can log in to Nielsen Media Research data network to learn which shows were hits and which flopped.

	Every Week subscribers receive a detailed report chronicling how many Nielsen Media Research household viewers were watching television during any given quarter hour and how specific programs fared against their competition.


Atlanta \| Boston \| Chicago \| Dallas \| Detroit \| Los Angeles \| New York \| Philadelphia \| San Francisco \| Washington DC
© Nielsen Media Research. All rights reserved.