media – The reliability of TV-ratings

ESWN starts an intriguing discussion on the reliability of TV ratings, based on an article focusing on the rating by CCTV-SOFRES and Nielsen Media Research. Since the tariffs of commercials are based on those ratings, any doubt on the credibility of those ratings is pretty crucial for their survival.
I’m not an expert on statistics (like ESWN, who works for one of their competitors), but the current limitation of the sample used to 300 households or slightly over 1,000 people seems rather limited for a population of 1,3 billion people with thousands of TV-channels to choose from. The traditional excuse that it fits international standards is nonsense, writes ESWN.

Also, there is no such thing as an international standard about acceptable sampling error. In the end, it is all about money (surprise!). When I first started to work in television audience measurement in local markets, my company had 500 households in New York City and Los Angeles, 450 in Chicago, 300 in Philaldephia and San Francisco. Meanwhile, Nielsen Media Research has 7,000 households in the USA national sample today. We would all like to have large samples, but it was all about what the market can afford to pay.

Since the media involved have a profound interest in maintaining the illusion of credible ratings, I wonder whether a real discussion will take off.