So how are TV ratings (for advertisement purposes) calculated these days? Is it still just random Neilsons boxes or does it include iTunes, network webpage replays, and Tivo? I remember Sci-Fi Channel offering special web bonuses to people that watched the show live, so apparently that was important to them. Does it differentiate between Tivo watchers who do and do not skip commercials?
This was prompted by a sentiment I often hear in entertainment columns, when a show isn’t doing well - “tell all your friends to watch!” or “make sure to keep watching!” But if you aren’t a Neilson family, whether you watch the show or not isn’t going to have any effect on the success of the show, other than the remote chance that your enthusiasm will somehow trickle down to some Nielson person through the six degrees effect.
If the way I watch TV can help my favorite shows I might be amenable to say, watching commercials instead of skipping them, but only if it actually factors into the equation. What’s the scoop?