What is a rating, and where does it come from?

If you need to easily define television ratings, it is an estimate or percentage that shows how many people are watching a particular show at a particular time. There are different measurements and types of ratings that are considered quite important for the TV world. It allows you to see the popularity of the TV work done or those that are being watched.

In the US and Canada, TV ratings are based on a company called Nielsen, founded in 1923 by an engineer named Arthur Nielsen. The company uses a technique called “statistical sampling” to rate shows. The company uses thousands of households to create estimates. These participants are selected randomly and paid a little. The company places a black box on TVs to find out what these people are watching. The information obtained during all the hours when the TV is on is sent to the company's computer.

The numbers seen in the ratings usually represent a share of the total viewers. For example, a 1.0 rating indicates that 1% of the 115.9 million households watching TV are connected to a program. In addition, it is mentioned in the demographic rating. It can be measured in age and gender. Advertising rates are also based on these data. A 30-second ad in one program can cost twice as much money as another program with a low rating. Programmers use Nielsen data to decide which shows will continue or not.