# I'll be getting a Neilsen survey ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086 "2011-08-25T21:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/1 "2011-08-25T21:32:18Z")
According to the postcard I received in the mail yesterday, I shall soon be receiving a large packet from [Neilsen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_ratings) containing a survey. This amuses me. I have not had any television service of any kind for about four years. (I can’t even pick up any “over the air” channels.) I watch a few television _shows_, but like everyone else not caught in the 20th century ( 😃 ), I watch them online. I wonder how much of the survey will not even apply to me. Or maybe Neilsen is more savvy than I anticipate. Has anyone else gotten one of these recently? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/2 "2011-08-26T01:19:16Z")
My boyfriend did, and he doesn’t own a TV either. I told him to just send it back blank. Don’t know if he did or not. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/3 "2011-08-26T01:50:09Z")
I got one about 15 years ago. I already didn’t watch anything other than recorded movies. They got back a survey with no viewing time in it. It’s valid too as they are seeking to know what you watch for aired television. ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/4 "2011-08-26T01:51:11Z")
I have a night job at Nielsen in Nokomis\* entering those paper surveys into their database. You can just leave it blank and return it or write that you don’t receive services or any OTA channels in the comments section on the back flap. \*this is where all the paper surveys are sent back to ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/5 "2011-08-27T02:01:43Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > I have not had any television service of any kind for about four years. (I can’t even pick up any “over the air” channels.) > > … > > I wonder how much of the survey will not even apply to me. Or maybe Neilsen is more savvy than I anticipate. Has anyone else gotten one of these recently? It applies, because you are part of the general population. If they only got responses from people who watch a lot of TV, the statistics would be skewed. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/6 "2011-08-27T03:05:12Z")
Well, by “apply to me” I was wondering if there are questions about viewing digital content. For example, do they ask just about cable and over-the-air, or are there questions like, “How many hours a week do you watch streaming video on [Hulu.com](http://Hulu.com)?” Does Neilsen care about that sort of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Alienhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@Alienhand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alienhand)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/7 "2011-08-27T14:42:03Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > Well, by “apply to me” I was wondering if there are questions about viewing digital content. For example, do they ask just about cable and over-the-air, or are there questions like, “How many hours a week do you watch streaming video on [Hulu.com](http://Hulu.com)?” Does Nielsen care about that sort of thing? Sort of. If you get the short survey then they’re just going to ask basic questions about your household but since you got a post card you should be getting the full survey. Important thing to remember is that Nielsen is interested in what your TV watched not what you watched. If you watch stuff on your computer it won’t count. If you watch hulu, netflix, etc on your TV, we will enter all the viewing in an Internet “bucket”, meaning that no one gets credit. It’s more of a placeholder saying this TV was used to view online stuff. Remember that any online viewing you do is already recorded by the company providing the content. The full survey will ask basic demographic questions (age, sex, race), cable or sat service, number of TVs, if you have a DVR, DVD or VCR and if you have a cell or landline and if you work for Nielsen. There is page that asks what channels you receive. The rest of the survey is a one week diary divided up into 15min blocks where you record all of the viewing on that TV. option A. Leave it blank and return. We (the diary editors) will mark it “No good” and it’ll go back to the file room. If Nielsen gets too many, they might call you to ask why you didn’t fill it out. option B. Mark that that you don’t have cable/sat service AND don’t receive any OTA channels. We will mark it “No good” regardless of any internet viewing. Don’t bother with filling out the demographics we won’t enter any of the information for “No good” diaries. option C. Fill out all the questions, don’t mention you have no service and record your internet viewing. We will enter all the demo info and enter your viewing in the generic internet “bucket”. > [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I got one about 15 years ago. I already didn’t watch anything other than recorded movies. They got back a survey with no viewing time in it. It’s valid too as they are seeking to know what you watch for aired television. It’s a valid “non-viewer” only if you have cable/sat service or receive OTA channels AND say why you didn’t watch anything “live”. Writing that you watched DVDs or previously recorded movies counts as saying why you didn’t watch anything. If you don’t record any viewing and don’t say why, it gets marked as “No good”. Also, we enter any VCR recording or DVR recording and viewing. DVD viewing doesn’t get entered. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/8 "2011-08-27T15:19:42Z")
I just got one of these as well - an envelope with a short survey and $4 in suspiciously crisp $1 bills. And the enclosed info said I’d only be getting $2! 😃 I filled it out online, even though we don’t have cable and almost never watch anything with our digital rabbit ears. We do watch a metric shit-ton of stuff on Netflix/rest of internet, though. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/9 "2011-08-27T21:29:20Z")
Moved from MPSIMS to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/10 "2011-08-27T21:32:08Z")
> [@Alienhand](#): > > I have a night job at Nielsen in Nokomis\* entering those paper surveys into their database. You can just leave it blank and return it or write that you don’t receive services or any OTA channels in the comments section on the back flap. > > \*this is where all the paper surveys are sent back to Daughter-of-the-Moon Nokomis? OP, please fill in that you never miss an opportunity to tune into _The Venture Bros._ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/11 "2011-08-27T21:34:08Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > I just got one of these as well - an envelope with a short survey and $4 in suspiciously crisp $1 bills. And the enclosed info said I’d only be getting $2! 😃 Did you check to make sure each bill had a unique serial number? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/12 "2011-08-27T21:35:26Z")
I tried to participate in a Nielsen survey long ago when you were supposed to record your viewing manually in a logbook. The problem was, everyone in the household was supposed to do the same, and I couldn’t get anyone else to do it. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/13 "2011-08-28T20:51:30Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I tried to participate in a Nielsen survey long ago when you were supposed to record your viewing manually in a logbook. The problem was, everyone in the household was supposed to do the same, and I couldn’t get anyone else to do it. Our problem the two times we got it was they sent us one book but we had like a half dozen TV’s in the house, so we had to go photocopy the book in order to properly follow the instructions and have one book per TV. If they ever pick us again, they better send more damn books. It’s a hassle anyway, so frankly I don’t wanna do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/14 "2011-08-28T22:40:45Z")
My family was picked for the survey last fall. And we were paid with a crisp $5 bill, not a measly $4! 😃 It was kind of a hassle, but it was only for a week, so as Tom Lehrer said, have no fear, just be glad it doesn’t last all year. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/15 "2011-08-28T23:07:19Z")
We also got a post card, and have also not had TV service for many years. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/16 "2011-08-28T23:20:31Z")
Tell them you watch PBS 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-be-getting-a-neilsen-survey/594086/17 "2011-08-28T23:34:48Z")
I got one of these in the mail years ago - more then ten years, less than 15. There was an 800 number to call on the card at the time, and I did not own a TV then (still don’t.) I don’t recall specifics, but I do remember the person on the other end being reluctant to believe I didn’t own a TV, didn’t want one, an did not find not having one to be a bad thing. I also got a radio Nielsen (or Arbitron) rating card once and filled it out…easy since I only listened to NPR.