Is anyone a Neilsen participant?

[jamesanthony]

If you are, can you explain how you were chosen and how it works? I have never met anyone who is part of that system that is used to determine TV show ratings. Are you paid to watch TV? What incentive is there to do it? Do they attach some sort of box to your tv sets or do you have to write in by hand or via e-mail what you watch and mail it in or something?

Thanks

[barwars]

I wont believe rating systems until they come to my house and ask me what I watched last night.
Until then -- they're nothing to me.

[jamesanthony]

The ratings do mean something in that if a show doesn't do well in this system it's going to be axed. Something like The Big House will probably get axed by ABC because it had poor ratings for ABC.

I do agree that an individual needs to not have a herd mentality and like a show just because it has good ratings. But even when I think a show is retarded like the reality shows, if it has high ratings I am curious about what it is about this thing that it gets such good ratings. I won't necessarily watch it, but I'll read up on it in the paper or something. Funny though, The Apprentice had good ratings and I still don't really know or care in the least about what they were competing for.

[Brian]

You can't volunteer to be a Nielson participant. They randomly choose people every evening.

[jamesanthony]

Brian, how does that work? I have never met anyone who was randomly selected for this. What databases do they use to randomly pick households?

[Brian]

This web site will help. If you get the main page, click the FAQ button at the left.

http://www.nielsenmedia.com

[jamesanthony]

Thanks brian. Sounds like you're being recruited to join the CIA or something when they contact people. I didn't see what datbase they use to contact people though.

[Czas na Zywiec]

We were a Nielsen family about two years ago. It was so much hassle, though. I had nothing better to do, so I agreed to do it, but I wish I hadn't. They called like 4756490634 times to tell me the same exact thing, then told me to keep track of every single thing on tv for every single tv in the house. Well there was no possible way for me to be around every single hour, and since my family doesn't really speak much English, they wouldn't be able to do anything. But to be frank, even if they did, I wouldn't even bother them with it. I told the sales person that all but one of our tv's were broken, so that way I had to only record off of one. It was still a hassle because sometimes I'd forget and just had to make up something. Then they gave me proper mailing instructions and called me another 4690 times to ask if I had mailed the damn thing or not. Definantly not worth my time. :thumbsdow

[jamesanthony]

Hey Czas:

Sounds like a lot of work. Do they pay for your time and services? And how did they find you? It so sounds like the CIA is tracking people down for some top secret assignment.

[Czas na Zywiec]

Originally posted by jamesanthony
Hey Czas:

Sounds like a lot of work. Do they pay for your time and services? And how did they find you? It so sounds like the CIA is tracking people down for some top secret assignment.

Nope, never got paid. And they called us and asked us if we were interested. And stupid me, thinking I had nothing better to do, accepted. Never again...

[dawsongirl]

:angdev:

I wanna be one so I can write down nothing on the paper, because frankly some days, I watch squat.

[TV Guy]

I was a Nielsen family about 7 or 8 years ago -- they sent me a "diary" which I used to record all my viewing habits for a month, and then I sent it back to them.

[Ant-Lox]

I was a Neilson participant a few years back, I remember them sending a diary to write whatever I watched in the book for a week and I then mailed it. Back then All I watched was Wrestling and Seinfeld Re-runs sO it was pretty boring, And I do rememeber messing up a lot of times on the booklet.

I don't remember if the $5 was included when I first got it, or after I mailed it, but I do remember getting 5 dollars from them.

[jamesanthony]

$5? I guess that's better than nothing.

[robyrob]

my mom has had a Nielsen's box hooked up to her tv for the past 2 years, all she has to do is use a special remote that came with the thing to click on the buttons for different family members or guests, so it knows who is watching.

i have no idea how she got to do it, and frankly it scares me deeply - she has had a new dvd player sitting beside the tv, still in the box, for the past year and a half (she refuses to let me set it up, and if im over there i'm usually eating or fixing her computer) and her vcr has never done anything but blink 12:00 for the past ten years

i swear that if she had been pciked a couple of years earlier Matlock would still be on.

[vze3t9q9]

I was a neilson tv diary keeper. It was I'd say gosh maybe 3 1/2 years ago. All I remember it was to start right after a political time. I think it was a day or two after an election. Most what I recorded in the diary was of the coverage that dragged on. MIght have been the Gore/ Bush chad debate. I didn't get any money. Just a thank you from the company. It wasn't too bad, just the tv had on for days the election outcome so I didn't have much variety.

[catlover79]

We were a Nielsen family for about a month in early 1999. It was a pain - writing down each and every channel and show we watched. Never again!!