Kudos to Obama.-But... Nielsen ratings are under heavy criticism, lately, due to a variety of reasons. The sample size is so small (and not very random) that a single nielsen family represents over 100,000 American households. (consider that: 1 person watching the convention gets counted as 550,000 viewers). Also, any nielsen family that recorded the event (via Tivo) gets counted. Independent statistics organizations indicate that news and political events, in particular, are grossly over-represented. Presumably because nielsen rating families are aware of the fact that their television viewing is being monitored.
Thanks for the info, Drowlord. These additional facts should certainly be taken into account.
Kudos to Obama.-But... Nielsen ratings are under heavy criticism, lately, due to a variety of reasons. The sample size is so small (and not very random) that a single nielsen family represents over 100,000 American households. (consider that: 1 person watching the convention gets counted as 550,000 viewers). Also, any nielsen family that recorded the event (via Tivo) gets counted. Independent statistics organizations indicate that news and political events, in particular, are grossly over-represented. Presumably because nielsen rating families are aware of the fact that their television viewing is being monitored.