Going through Angel withdrawal

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

We get the WB but it's almost impossible to tune it in with just an antenna.

Heh. I'd rather watch TV snow with intermittent Angel than a good, clear signal of anything on, say, CBS.

 

[ASH]

I am going to be starting the first season tonight..
A friend has the first three seasons on dvd, and i never watched them on tv, i have not seen a single episode. I have recently become intrested in Buffy and watched the first 3 almost 4 seasons.. I heard that Angel kind of ties in with the 4th season of buffy..

In all of your professionall opinions.. which is better.. Angel or Buffy..

 

[Umbran]

In all of your professionall opinions.. which is better.. Angel or Buffy..

Which is better, chocolate or strawberry?

For some folks, there'll be a clear winner there. But for my money, there isnt much difference in overall quality. They are both good. Just a bit different, addressing different themes. Both shows had slumps and recoveries. Both are, IMHO, loads better than most of the drek on TV today.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Anyway, it's nice to see exactly what kind of savvy television watchers make up the Nielsen families. ::rollseyes::

Nielsen families are supposed to be representative of the nation as a whole, and having some that don't get cable is perfectly in line with that concept. Sad to say, but the Nielsen's are fairly accurate, from what I know.

 

[Umbran]

Sad to say, but the Nielsen's are fairly accurate, from what I know.

Criticism of the Neilsen system crops up now and again, so for themoment I'll say merely this - there has not been much (if any) independant reseach to confirm or deny the accuracy of the Neilsen system. So, none of us know anything about it's accuracy, as there's no confirmation.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Criticism of the Neilsen system crops up now and again, so for themoment I'll say merely this - there has not been much (if any) independant reseach to confirm or deny the accuracy of the Neilsen system. So, none of us know anything about it's accuracy, as there's no confirmation.

And I dare say that any attempt to determine the accuracy would be ludicrously expensive.

I have personally come to think, especially because of debates on these boards, that the Neilsen system is a lot like economics. You either think it works one way, or you think it works another, but the truth is probably somewhere in between and no one can prove any of the three.

 

[Umbran]

And I dare say that any attempt to determine the accuracy would be ludicrously expensive.

A full-on test of everything that Neilsen claims to measure would be expensive, yes. But not ludicrously so. After all, the Neilsen corporation can afford to do it...

And, an attempt to at least double-check their numbers for a few shows would be expensive, but not ludicrously so, and might prove to either support their claims of accuracy or put a severe dent in them. The question would be why one would bother - what profit can you make on it? The only reason to try would be if you were offering a competing service...

I think perhaps folks who sell cable boxes or TiVos might want to take a stab at it. While they'd catch only some segments of the population, the data these devices could gather would be impressive.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

My digital cable box has a nice little phone cable going into the back of it to download the on-screen programming guide. Why can't this be rigged up to send my viewing information to some Nielsen-esque rating firm? Sure it sounds Orwellian, but I want someone in charge to know I watch the shows they wish to cancel all willy-nilly!

Nielsen families are supposed to be representative of the nation as a whole, and having some that don't get cable is perfectly in line with that concept.

Let me be perfectly blunt about this: the idea that someone who watches basic cable over-the-air for free has a say in what gets shown on the cable I spend $70 a month for chaps my hide.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Criticism of the Neilsen system crops up now and again, so for themoment I'll say merely this - there has not been much (if any) independant reseach to confirm or deny the accuracy of the Neilsen system. So, none of us know anything about it's accuracy, as there's no confirmation.

And this is why you will see things like 'viewer choice' where viewers call in or write in, it gives them 'an idea' on number of watchers. It is not exact and adds wood to the fire.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

And, an attempt to at least double-check their numbers for a few shows would be expensive, but not ludicrously so, and might prove to either support their claims of accuracy or put a severe dent in them. The question would be why one would bother - what profit can you make on it? The only reason to try would be if you were offering a competing service...

Arbitron used to offer TV ratings service just like Neilsen. They used somewhat different methodology, but got very similar numbers. In my view, it is a very safe bet that we get crappy TV programming not because the ratings systems is messed up, but because people as a whole watch crappy TV programming.