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Ratings Question ...

(October 2006)

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MS
Mr-Stabby
Ebeneezer Scrooge posted:
Mr-Stabby posted:
Surely with the advent of Digital TV we can be a bit more accurate on figures these days?


I have no doubt this is possible - I wouldn't be surprised if there was an element of that happening in Sky boxes already, but as we have seen through Sky boxes, subscribers/viewers just don't like having phone lines connected to their STBs... If people aren't willing to connect a phone line, the results suffer with the same problem as the BARB system and have to be up-scaled!


Yes that could be a problem.

I know the dish doesn't send back information, but surely Sky can register when a particular signal is being sent out, and what bandwidth is being used and who by. There must be a way they could get figures of whos watching what channel and when?
ES
Ebeneezer Scrooge
But in that sense, digital tv works in exactly the same way as analogue tv - All channels are transmitted all the time (certainly on DTT DSat models - Cable COULD work on a per-request basis, but I don't think it does), so broadcasters can't get any idea of who is watching from what bandwidth is being used - it's always being fully used!
The only way to get this information back on a simplex transmission system is to add a second route back - the phone line!
MI
Mich Founding member
At first glance it may seem quite strange that you can scale a sample of 5,100 homes up to over 20 million, but statistically it is quite sound.

To scale a sample up from 60,000 to 60 million only needs another 500 or so additions to the sample.

Even if you categorise people into 500 groups (which in reality would be quite elaborate), there would still be an average of 10 of each type of people.

TV Companies clearly trust the ratings to an extent because they pay for the data. Many other companies make a living from providing surveys, NOP, MORI and YouGov to just name a couple. Their surveys generally range from 500-2000 people; and while it is very difficult to proove they are good or bad estimates, they are clearly a cost effective method.
BF
Bewitched_Fan_2k
Ebeneezer Scrooge posted:
I have no doubt this is possible - I wouldn't be surprised if there was an element of that happening in Sky boxes already, but as we have seen through Sky boxes, subscribers/viewers just don't like having phone lines connected to their STBs... If people aren't willing to connect a phone line, the results suffer with the same problem as the BARB system and have to be up-scaled!


When Sky is fitted you are told you HAVE to have it connected to the phone line as part of the deal. However soon as Sky are gone everyone unplugs it Ive spoken to about 6 people who admitted just that.
MS
Mr-Stabby
Mich posted:
Even if you categorise people into 500 groups (which in reality would be quite elaborate), there would still be an average of 10 of each type of people.


That system relies on those 10 people being almost automatons to their profile, and its damn near impossible that even 10 people are going to watch the exact same programme at the exact same times let alone several thousand/million!
TO
toma8473
Mich posted:

Even if you categorise people into 500 groups (which in reality would be quite elaborate), there would still be an average of 10 of each type of people.



It does seem like a good idea but probably wouldnt work because then nearly all ratings would be verified and turn out around the same

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