# I'll tell Nielsen I watch your favorite shows if you tell me when they are **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2006, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974 "2006-06-16T18:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/21 "2006-07-14T03:23:36Z")
Tell them you love PBS-especially Nova and the British Comedies. That would make me very happy. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/22 "2006-07-14T03:26:20Z")
**carlotta** , can you throw a Nielsen bone at \*Supernatural \*, Thursdays at 9:00pm on the new CW network? It’s going up against \*Grey’s Anatomy \* this season. I love me some \*Grey’s \* as well, but they don’t need the bone! ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/23 "2006-07-14T14:21:40Z")
I’m almost positive this is a violation of your agreement with Nielsen. I am quite positive that trying to game the system results in bad data, and that inevitably results in bad programming, period. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/24 "2006-07-14T14:24:47Z")
**Cliffy** , I disagree. If anything, Nielsen is getting a better deal this way. Instead of data on one person’s viewing habits, they now have several dozen. This is all stuff we’re watching anyway - it’s not like we’re telling her to keep it on CSPAN. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/25 "2006-07-14T14:54:59Z")
Another vote for _Veronica Mars_. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/26 "2006-07-14T15:12:05Z")
[QUOTE=Cliffy] I am quite positive that trying to game the system results in bad data, and that inevitably results in bad programming, period. –Cliffy [/QUOTE] Really? Because I’m thinking that this is probably the only thing we can do to prevent _CSI: Boise_. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/27 "2006-07-14T15:13:12Z")
[QUOTE=Spatial Rift 47] **Cliffy** , I disagree. If anything, Nielsen is getting a better deal this way. Instead of data on one person’s viewing habits, they now have several dozen. This is all stuff we’re watching anyway - it’s not like we’re telling her to keep it on CSPAN. [/QUOTE] That’s absurd. If Nielsen wanted you data, they’d have sent you a diary. If you want good shows on the air, you should be thinking of ways to make the rating system better, not more fucked up. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/28 "2006-07-14T15:19:57Z")
Crap! I just came back into this thread and saw that I wrote Deadwood was on at 9 **am**. What a moroon. Of course you know it’s on at 9pm right? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/29 "2006-07-14T17:33:15Z")
[QUOTE=YaWanna] We got picked once, but my husband refused to participate, and said I couldn’t either. He considered it an invasion of his privacy. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] ::blinking:: Ex-SQUEEZE me? He TOLD you you couldn’t participate? Since when is he hte boss of you? I’d dispatch a squadron of my genetically-engineered winged howler monkeys to your aid, 'cept I’m all evil & stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/30 "2006-07-14T17:35:55Z")
[QUOTE=JustAnotherGeek] _Good Eats_ on the FoodNetwork (ch 77) on M-F at 7pm, and W at 10pm. Alton can always use more good ratings! 😃 [/QUOTE] Ditto! You beat me to it. AB! AB! AB! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/31 "2006-07-14T17:45:42Z")
Criminal Minds. Wednesday 9 p.m. on CBS ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/32 "2006-07-14T17:55:14Z")
[QUOTE=Cliffy] I’m almost positive this is a violation of your agreement with Nielsen. I am quite positive that trying to game the system results in bad data, and that inevitably results in bad programming, period. –Cliffy [/QUOTE] I agree. It’s dishonest. It may be illegal, and it’s certainly unethical. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/33 "2006-07-14T18:04:39Z")
I agree with **Mayo Speaks!** and **Cliffy**. I work in market research. Please, do not do this. Just…don’t. There is so much wrong here, I don’t even know where to begin. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/34 "2006-07-14T18:04:52Z")
I agree with **Cliffy**. Tell them the truth. If the current shows don’t interest you maybe they will change them to ones that do, but that will never happen if they don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/35 "2006-07-14T18:32:54Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I agree with **Mayo Speaks!** and **Cliffy**. I work in market research. Please, do not do this. Just…don’t. There is so much wrong here, I don’t even know where to begin. [/QUOTE] “Market Research”, eh? There’s so much wrong with _that_ that I don’t even know where to begin. When the system doesn’t return satisfactory results, there’s no harm in diddling with it. It’s not like it’s a democracy or scientific research: it’s in place only to make people money, and respondents have no fiduciary responsibility to be honest. However, I personally am honest with market researchers, however, I don’t think they really listen to me and will probably decline to participate unless the financial incentives are great enough. (They don’t listen to me because they never include sensible alternatives, either in opinion/lifestyle polls or cultural ones such as this. When my choice isn’t even an answer, it’s clear that they don’t even care about me.) I am returning my Nielsen packet today, which they wanted to give me despite the fact that I told them I don’t really listen to the radio and had no plans on doing so. Hey, an easy $10 and I get to write a nice invective damning the quality of radio in the tiny box they give for comments. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/36 "2006-07-14T18:58:01Z")
From [http://www.nielsenmedia.com/](http://www.nielsenmedia.com/) > [@FAQ](#): > > We ask our households not to reveal they are in the Nielsen Media Research panel. This protects their privacy and helps ensure the integrity of the sample. In the few cases where homes have revealed their status as a Nielsen home, we removed them from the metered panels or disregarded their diaries. Plus, as someone pointed out last time we had a thread like this, lying to Nielsen counteracts the goal of the Dope, namely fighting ignorance. I believe we DID have a thread once, where people would tell the OP what their favorite show is, then they would watch those shows, and tell Nielsen they were watching it. That still violates the secrecy requirement above, but I would guess that Nielsen wouldn’t mind that as much. **Sarahfeena** , would you agree? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/37 "2006-07-14T19:08:35Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] “Market Research”, eh? There’s so much wrong with _that_ that I don’t even know where to begin. When the system doesn’t return satisfactory results, there’s no harm in diddling with it. It’s not like it’s a democracy or scientific research: it’s in place only to make people money, and respondents have no fiduciary responsibility to be honest. [/QUOTE] So what if it is in place to make money? It’s called the economy…make money, and spread it around. Create jobs. Make products people want. You are right, what a dastardly invention. We should abolish market research immediately. Respondents DO have a responsibility to be honest when they are being paid for their information. Actually, they have a responsibility anyway, from an ethical standpoint. > [@](#): > > However, I personally am honest with market researchers, however, I don’t think they really listen to me and will probably decline to participate unless the financial incentives are great enough. (They don’t listen to me because they never include sensible alternatives, either in opinion/lifestyle polls or cultural ones such as this. When my choice isn’t even an answer, it’s clear that they don’t even care about me.) I am guessing that all of your experience with market research involves being a respondent, because you clearly don’t understand anything about how questionnaires are developed or used. Typically, gathering of qualitative data (such as focus groups) occurs first. Then, this qualitative data is used to develop closed-ended questions for quantitative surveys…the closed end options are not just made up at the whim of the researchers, they come from the opinions of consumers. Then, if someone is answering the closed-end question, and wants to give an answer not included in the given responses, their answer is written down and coded into data that can be anaylzed. So…yes, although it is true that market research firms do not care about YOU, per se, they do indeed care about your opinions. Of course, one should not forget when participating that they are “just a statistic” to a research firm, and therefore it is even more important to be completely honest in one’s answers. > [@](#): > > I am returning my Nielsen packet today, which they wanted to give me despite the fact that I told them I don’t really listen to the radio and had no plans on doing so. Hey, an easy $10 and I get to write a nice invective damning the quality of radio in the tiny box they give for comments. Good for you. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/38 "2006-07-14T19:21:00Z")
[QUOTE=TJdude825] From [http://www.nielsenmedia.com/](http://www.nielsenmedia.com/) Plus, as someone pointed out last time we had a thread like this, lying to Nielsen counteracts the goal of the Dope, namely fighting ignorance. I believe we DID have a thread once, where people would tell the OP what their favorite show is, then they would watch those shows, and tell Nielsen they were watching it. That still violates the secrecy requirement above, but I would guess that Nielsen wouldn’t mind that as much. **Sarahfeena** , would you agree? [/QUOTE] Let me make sure I am getting you right. You mean, I would tell the OP my favorite show was X. The OP would watch X (even if he or she would not normally have watched it), and then put X down as the show they were watching at that time. Is this correct? If so, I think Nielsen would consider this to be basically the same thing as what is going on here…as it would have the same net effect on results. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/39 "2006-07-14T19:30:39Z")
What if Albert and Bob work together, and Albert gets dumped around the same time he gets his Nielsen diary in the mail? He says “Hey Bob, I’ve got a project[sup]1[/sup] in the basement, takes a long time between coats of paint. What kinda Teevee you been watchin’ lately? Anything good on besides freakin’ hockey?” Bob recommends shows to Albert, Albert watches 'em. As long as Albert _actually watches the shows_ based on word-of-mouth recommendations from trusted friends, how is that fundamentally different from Albert throwing darts at the TV Guide[sup]2[/sup]? 1. My _girl_ robot. _snort_ 2. Which, for all the good it does anybody anymore, might be a more entertaining way to spend one’s evening… ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974/40 "2006-07-14T19:40:52Z")
> [@Mayo Speaks!](#): > > I agree. It’s dishonest. It may be illegal, and it’s certainly unethical. Oh come on. Dishonest sure. Unethical maybe. But illegal? Can you cite me a law in any jurisdiction that this scenario might come close to violating? Anyways, not that I’d want the OP to do anything terrible and go to TV Hell, but votes for Psych (USA, Fridays 10 PM EDT), Kyle XY (ABC Family, Mondays, 8 PM EDT), and the Intercontinental Poker Championship (CBS, Sundays 3 PM EDT) would be cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ill-tell-nielsen-i-watch-your-favorite-shows-if-you-tell-me-when-they-are/360974.md?page=3)