The Ratings – The Evening News

By Steve Shaner

These are all terms that refer to the life source of all things Advertising and Broadcasting. I never really understood how surveying ~1,000 potential audience members could generate millions of dollars in revenue. It seemed incomprehensible to extrapolate the numbers into what millions of others were also doing with almost exact precision within a small percentage of margin of error.

Broadcast ratings systems are designed to measure how many people are watching or listening to a particular program, when they are doing so, and in some cases who those audience members are. In the United States, this is most commonly done through firms such as Nielsen, which use a combination of technologies and methodologies. These include electronic meters attached to televisions and streaming devices, set-top box data from cable and satellite providers, and viewer diaries or surveys in smaller markets. Data is collected from a statistically representative sample of households and then extrapolated to estimate total audience size. Ratings are reported as averages over specific time periods and are broken down by demographics, dayparts, and program types, allowing broadcasters and advertisers to compare performance across stations and shows.

The information ratings provide is highly valuable to broadcasters and advertisers. Ratings show how many people are reached, how long they stay tuned, and how audience size changes across time slots or program formats. They help determine advertising rates, guide programming decisions, identify target demographics, and evaluate the success or failure of new shows or schedule changes. Long-term trends in ratings can also reveal shifts in viewer behavior, such as the migration from broadcast TV to streaming or changes in peak viewing hours.

However, ratings systems also have clear limitations. They do not truly know why people are watching, how engaged they are, or whether the television or radio is simply on in the background. Ratings cannot accurately capture emotional response, viewer satisfaction, or the influence of a program on opinions or purchasing behavior. They may underrepresent certain audiences, especially those who consume content across multiple platforms, watch outside the home, or avoid measurement devices altogether. As a result, ratings are best understood as estimates of exposure—not definitive measures of impact, quality, or cultural value.

When I was a very young TV news staff photographer I was invited to partake in the Nielsen survey for television viewership. However, when I informed the caller that I did not even own a television at all in my household, and that I was gainfully employed by KATV in Little Rock, I was deemed ineligible.

I told my news department management staff of my invitation to participate; they were incredulous that I just didn’t give them the book to fill out for me!

I have always been a news junkie. I watch the news to find out if the world still exists. But “My adult children never watch network news. Not in the evening, not in the morning. They can thumb through information on the internet anytime they want. Television news is not even considered a ‘thing’ anymore.”

Television news is not the fireside chat it used to be.  It’s either completely dismissed as false, or whole heartedly accept as gospel, depending on which side of a political view you are viewing it from. We all want our newscasts filled with what we already believe.
 
But network news programming is still where people immediately turn to when there is a national crisis at hand. On January 28, 1986, I was driving down the road when I heard on the radio that the NASA Space craft, Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff and all the astronauts were killed, including a elementary school teacher form New Hampshire, Christa McAuliff.  I sped up a little faster so I could get back to my office to turn my television on to hear and see what was going on!
 
Answer the question, “Where were you when you first heard of (insert a national crisis or news story on a historical event?),” and it takes you back to a vivid memory where you eventually ended up in front of a TV national network broadcast.  I remember so many of these questions answered, such as, the death of John Kennedy, the moon landing, O.J. Simpsons white Bronco chase, and even his final court verdict. I could list multiple other national stories that brought families, co-workers and strangers together gathered around a “boob-tube” to watch in delight or disbelief what was unfolding in our history.  

What was in it all this viewership for the TV news networks? Ratings! And it was a bonanza of numbers, and those numbers converted to money

For over 50 years I’ve worked for radio stations, a TV station, a newspaper, and an advertising agency. I have known of, studied, and taught the principles of ratings and how important they are to all things in mass communications. Even ONE percentage point could mean a million dollars of revenue difference in radio or TV outlets in some markets.

Recently I received a “Book” from the Neilsen Ratings Co. to journal my radio listening habits. As I began the logging process of filling-out a journal to record my one-week RADIO listening habits I realized I was now on the consumer and audience side of the equation instead of working for a broadcast entity. I am so excited to still be a part of this industry I loved so much!