TELEVISION RATING SERVICES

Selected Information on the Local Rating Services Conducted by Th Companies Publishing Nationally Significant Ratings1

Nielsen coverage service (NCS)

A. C. NIELSEN CO.

Nature of service: Measures location and intensity of radio and telev audiences. Most recent study based on 1956 broadcasting and reception tions. Data based on an estimated 200,000 separate radio and TV ques naires distributed to sample homes by personal interviewers or through mails.

Information reported

1. Market coverage area (for each station): All counties or NCS where 10 percent or more of all homes listen to or view the station at once a month.

2. Market area statistics (for each station): Total homes and tot ceiver homes (radio or TV) in subscriber's market coverage area; also, homes and receiver homes for each NCS area.

3. Audience circulation (for each station): Listener or viewer hom market coverage area and in each NCS area

(a) Separately for daytime and nighttime (where applicable) (b) Separately for weekly and daily audiences.

4. United States radio and TV ownership:

(a) By counties, States, and areas;

(b) By number and type of sets owned; and

(c) By room location, etc.

5. Important dimensions of listening and viewing in 1956:

(a) In-home radio and TV ;

(b) Auto radio; and

(c) Other out-of-home listening.

6. Average hours (on special request) of daily listening or viewi homes tuning to the subscriber's station.

7. Intensified sampling (on special request) in individual counties or to provide detailed breakdowns of areas.

Nielsen station index

Nature of service: Ratings and additional audience listening informati radio and TV for 30 local markets. Meter-based information taken from sentative samples. Reports issued from 2 to 12 times per year depending the market.

Information reported (for each market area) –

1. Ratings: Percent of all TV (or radio) homes in the measured tuned to the program.

2. Sets in use: Percent of all homes tuned to all stations at a given 3. Audience composition: Percent of men, women, teen-agers, and ch in the audience.

4. Average number of viewers per set.

5. Cumulative audience and frequency of viewing (on special req 6. Auto plus: Giving the additional radio audience delivered by radios, by area, season, time of day, and day of week.

AMERICAN RESEARCH BUREAU, INC.

Metropolitan area reports

Ma

Nature of service: Over 100 markets surveyed during the year. these are reported on monthly, with others reported on less frequent inter six, four, three, or two times yearly. Samples chosen on a random basis telephone directory.

Information reported—

1. Ratings: Percent of all TV homes in the measured area tuned program.

1 Supplements table entitled "Television rating services: a comparative analysis nationally significant ratings," prepared by the Legislative Reference Service, Lib Congress, June 17, 1957.

2. Sets in use: Percent of all homes tuned to all stations at a given time. 3. Audience composition: Percent of men, women, and children under 16 in the audience (in instances where there are not enough viewing "cases" to allow proper statistical breakdown, audience composition cannot be shown).

4. Average number of viewers per set.

5. Share of sets in use (for most city reports): For each of the stations in the market by various day-part segments.

6. Cumulative ratings (published for the Monday through Friday daytime programs produced by local subscription stations): Showing how much of the total potential audience is reached at least once during the weekly campaign cycle.

Metropolitan area coverage studies

Nature of service: Measures station coverage and viewing (163 markets surveyed in February 1955, approximately 230 in February 1956, and over 150 in February 1957). Special coverage studies are made during remainder of year in response to request of clients.

Information reported

1. Percentage of homes having TV (including UHF).

2. Percentage of homes able to receive each available station and frequency of viewing of each.

3. Stations viewed most (first and second preference) in each market, daytime and evening.

Special tabulations

Nature of service: Tabulations of audience information which are not compiled and published in the standard reports.

Information which may be requested for any combination of programs— 1. Cumulative ratings.

2. Average audience composition.

3. Frequency of viewing: Reveals the depth of duplication a particular schedule gives within a given broadcast week.

4. Individual spot or program analysis: Rating for each program and the unduplicated rating showing how many of the people watching that program did not watch any of the other programs being considered.

5. Viewing group analysis: Unduplicated rating for each program being considered and for every possible combination of the programs being considered.

Other information which may be requested

1. Special national tabulation of ratings and homes reached based on rural (R.F.D.) families, compared to "all families."

2. Number of TV homes in Nation who can receive only one station, two stations, and so forth.

3. Percentage of total male TV viewers who watch after 11 p.m., local time. 4. Network program ratings and other audience data tabulated according to geographic regions or an advertiser's own sales divisions.

Special field surveys: Designed to isolate a particular kind of information at a specific time or place.

Trend information: Concerning the television industry generally and including rating averages and audience composition trends for different kinds and lengths of programs.

VIDEODEX, INC.

Nature of service: Regularly reported local markets, special tabulations, and special surveys.

Information reported—

Monthly

1. Sets in use.

2. Ratings.

3. Audience share.

4. Viewers per set.

Quarterly-1. Audience composition (men, women, children between 13 18, and children, 12 and under).

With varying frequency

1. Audience duplication.

2. Audience turnover.

3. Audience flow.

4. Cumulative audience.

5. Socioeconomic classification data.

6. Sponsor identification.

7. Reaction to commercial and program.

8. Incidence of products and brands in viewing homes.

THE PULSE, INC.

Nature of service: Over 150 individual markets surveyed in 1956. The nur and location of these surveys was determined by the company's clients an its own workload. The frequency of reporting from each of these markets va from once a month to once a year. (The company's U.S. TV report is a weig average of the individual markets surveyed in any one month with rat weighted proportionate to the television population.) Clients may also ask special surveys covering a wider or a smaller area than that covered by regular survey or they may ask for surveys covering special days not surv in the standard survey week.

Size of sample: Varies according to markets, frequency of reporting, and na of problems involved. A 5-day-a-week strip program would usually be r on the basis of 500 to 1,000 homes. A once-a-week program might be r on a sample size as low as 100 in a single station market up to a maxin of 400 in the large markets. Depending also on whether results are reporte half-hour, hourly averages, or broader periods, the total number of homes vary from 200 to 6,000 or more in a given market.

TRENDEX, INC.

Nature of service: From the eighth to the end of each month special sur are conducted in response to requests of clients. These surveys are norm conducted in the same 15 major cities in which the regular surveys are n They may include special questions and varying samples designed to meet client's unique requirements.

Source: Replies received from A. C. Nielsen Co., American Research Bu Inc., Videodex, Inc., the Pulse, Inc., and Trendex, Inc., in response to certai quiries included in a letter of March 27, 1957, from Senator Warren G. Magn chairman of the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. Prepared by John W. Walker, Economics Division, Legislative Refer Service, the Library of Congress.

Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON,

A. C. NIELSEN CO., Chicago, Ill., June 16, 19

U.S. Senate, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR MAGNUSON: Thank you for your letter of June 9 and the that you so kindly sent along. As you suggest, we will be pleased to hold material in confidence.

With the thought that it may expedite discussions during the June 26 pro ings, I am attaching some supplementary information that is keyed to col 1 and 2 of the chart.

I trust that it will be helpful to you and the other members of the comm to have these additional data.

Sincerely yours,

A. C. NIELSEN Co., HENRY RAH MEL, Executive Vice Preside

Suggested updating or supplement to col. 21

1,050 Audimeters, that meter approximately 1,110 receivers continuously throughout the year. Sample yields approximately 600,000 home quarter-hour TV measurements each week.

Each home in the sample is contacted in person by full-time Nielsen employees to secure cooperation and to install Audimeter.

50 cents is enclosed with film cartridge. Families select gifts from premium catalogs approximately twice annually. Nielsen pays share of receiver maintenance cost.

2-week periods surveyed 24 times a year. 48 weeks individually reported per year.

NTI homes are not interviewed.
The basic data are compiled
automatically by Audimeters.
However, Nielsen fieldmen visit
each home in the sample period-
ically to inspect and service the
equipment as necessary.

The percentage of all TV homes
able to receive the program that
had it tuned in for (1) 6 minutes
or more; and (2) during an aver-
age minute. Nielsen ratings re-
ports cover 2-week intervals and
are supplied 24 times each year.
Sets in use: Total and average per
minute.
Program coverage: Number
TV homes able to receive the
program in percent of total U.S.
TV homes.

of

Number of stations which trans-
mitted the program.

Total U.S. homes reached by
each program (projection).
Share of audience: Percentage of
all viewers watching a particular
program.

15 Sources of revenue (from Not available..

all TV rating services,
both national and local).

Additionally, NTI complete reports, issued 6 times per year, provide a variety of detailed information of analytic or diagnostic types.

Approximately 2% of revenue derived from advertiser and agency clients (see exhibit C of material forwarded April 1957); approximately from networks, stations and other clients.

! Cols. 1 and 2 are transcripts of text of the chart titled "Television Rating Services: A Comparative Analysis of the Nationally Significant Ratings," dated June 17, 1957 (received by A. C. Nielsen Co., June 1958). Col. 3 up-dates or supplements col. 2.

Mr. NICHOLAS ZAPPLE,

Communications Counsel, U.S. Senate,

VIDEODEX, INC.,

New York, N. Y., June 29, 1958.

Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. ZAPPLE: This will acknowledge receipt of the chart to be used at the June 26 hearing on TV rating services. Thank you for sending this on to us. It's contents will be treated confidentially as requested by Senator Magnuson. We would like to have the Videodex section of the chart amended as follows: Category: Method of contacting and recruiting sample homes-to read: "By mail and personal interview."