I’ve never understood this. The television networks artificially boost their ratings by airing more compelling broadcasts than they normally do, and these ratings are used to set advertising rates. Why do advertisers agree to this when the ratings these networks draw are not representative of their overall, year-round viewership?
Because for a long time, that’s all that was available. In many places, it still is.
I’ve been away from advertising and ratings for a couple of years, so my information may be out of date, but the last time I heard, year-round ratings measurements were only available in the 50 largest U.S. markets. Sweeps ratings are taken in all 210 markets.
Granted, the 50 largest markets contain the majority of the population, but that leaves something in excess of 450 commercial TV stations needing something to base their advertising rates on. That’s why sweeps are important.
No big national advertiser negotiates a buy solely on sweeps ratings. They factor in the overnight ratings, demographic studies, focus groups and a lot of other things. Sweeps are just one tool (although a big one).
Thank you, kunilou. Your post was very enlightening. I was of the impression that sweeps ratings were pretty much the sole measure that advertising rates and purchases were made on. It’s nice to hear from someone with experience in the business.