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Nielsen TV Rating Process
Who is Nielsen TV Ratings?
Nielsen TV Ratings . . . also known as The Nielsen Company, Inc. was
established in 1950. Nielsen, located in Florida, is a well-known leader in
television research. Nielsen gathers information about television
viewing of adults, teenagers and children across the United States. This viewing
information is used to prepare the official TV ratings. Nielsen reports
the TV viewing of TV households across the U.S. This is why we would
like you to take part in this survey and make diary entries. It is
important that you participate in the survey and write comments in the
diaries.
What are the Nielsen TV Ratings?
Nielsen TV Ratings answers two questions about TV viewing: "Who is
watching TV?" and "What are they watching?" The TV
Ratings are counts of persons watching television programs on TV stations,
networks, cable and satellite systems. The counts include adults,
teenagers, and children from all kinds of homes across the U.S.
Why do you ask questions in the diary?
It is very important for us to represent all types of households. These
questions allow us to ensure that everyone is included. Otherwise our
results would not be as accurate. Please be assured that your answers
will be kept highly confidential.
How does Nielsen choose their "permanent"
Nielsen homes?
Nielsen TV Ratings does not have any "permanent" samples of
homes. By "permanent" you may be referring to the households
where electronic meters are installed. Nielsen has many different types
of surveys. Our diary samples are scientifically selected by telephone numbers
in geographic areas across the U.S. We do not keep permanent listings
for studies, but it could happen by chance that the same home could be chosen
for more than one survey.
Are you going to ask me to fill out another diary, after I
fill out and return this diary?
Generally, we do not call upon the same television home more than once for a
particular survey, but this could occur by chance. Also, there is the
possibility that your home could be selected for some other future Nielsen
survey.
Will you give out my name and address?
No . . . absolutely not! Please be assured that your name, address, and
phone number are completely confidential. We do not release or sell any
information about any TV home. In fact, Nielsen will not disclose names
or addresses to anyone for any reason. The reports we produce combine
the TV viewing of all homes that participate. The identities of
individual homes are not used in any Nielsen reports.
Will someone try to sell me something because I return my
diary?
Never! The information from your home is held strictly
confidential. You will never be approached by someone selling something
because you returned your Nielsen TV Ratings diary.
Special
Situations
I've moved to another city/county/state and the diary
was forwarded to me. Can I still make viewing entries in the diary?
Yes, you may make viewing entries in the diary. There is a place in the
diary to write in the city, state and county where you now reside.
The diary is addressed to someone else who used to live
here. Can I fill out the diary since I live here now?
Yes. Your participation is extremely important to us.
I am at my winter/summer vacation home and the diary has
been forwarded to me from my permanent residence. Can I do the diary?
No, we're sorry. Your household was selected at your permanent
residence. We use only the TV viewing done in your permanent
residence. We can not include the viewing that occurs at a vacation
home. However, please check the box in question #3 of Step 1 in the
diary to indicate that "Everyone is away all week". Fill in
the names of all household members and fill in the information about the age,
sex and number of hours worked and answer the other questions in the diary
and return it (or all of them) to us.
You phoned me at this address and sent a diary(ies)
here, but this is my vacation (or seasonal/summer/winter) home. Can I
do the diary?
No, we're sorry. We use only the TV viewing done in your permanent residence.
We can not include the viewing that occurs at a vacation home. Please
write in the diary "This is my second home". Fill in the
names of all household members and fill in the information about the age, sex
and number of hours worked and answer the other questions in the diary and
return it (or all of them) to us.
I spend six months at one home and six months at the
other. Which would be considered to be my permanent home?
Whichever residence at which you are registered to vote or in which your vehicle
is registered should be considered your permanent address. If you have
further questions about which residence to consider as your permanent
residence, please call our toll-free telephone number: 1-800-237-8611, 7 days
a week, 9:00 AM to 12:00 Midnight EST.
What if I am employed in the TV/Radio industry?
If any household member is employed by, or a principal owner in the
television or media industry, our guidelines prohibit us from including that
household in our survey. If that is the case, please accept our thanks
for your interest and your understanding and answer 'Yes' to Question #11,
the TV/Radio employment question, in each diary. Return all the diaries
at your convenience so that we know that you are a member of the media.
If you are unsure please call 1-800-237-8611 for more detailed
information. A helpful person is waiting to answer any questions you
may have.
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