The technical error in Nielsen's ratings system first came into notice during the September 22 episode of 'Dancing with the Stars'.
- Oct 11, 2014
AceShowbiz - On Friday, October 10, Nielsen Media Research announced via a conference call that its TV ratings system had been experiencing a "technical error" since March. During the time frame, several shows received larger-than-normal boosts in Live and Same Day viewing numbers.
ABC reportedly was the network that got the biggest boost. The network's afternoon viewership estimations were consistently higher than those reported earlier in the day. Since Nielsen will announce the corrected ratings for fall TV season, ABC will be the one who sees an apparent drop.
It was CBS research chief David Poltrack who began noticing the difference after seeing the ratings for "Dancing with the Stars" on September 22 and then alerted Nielsen. Patricia McDonough, Nielsen senior vice president for planning policy and analysis, said, "The differences are small enough that those of us who look at these numbers every day and live by them didn't notice a difference."
According to The Wrap's sources, the slip-down will be one-tenth or two-tenths of a ratings point tops but positioning will likely not change. The network itself has braced itself for such changes. "Our entire industry relies upon Nielsen for accuracy and veracity, and we hope that they can quickly resolve this issue. We're confident that the momentum we've seen across the network so far this season will continue, including delivery of the No. 1 new drama and the No. 1 new comedy on television," ABC spokesman Kevin Brockman said.
Many people within the industry reportedly are not happy with this glitch. Networks are now looking forward to the revised numbers and would see whether ABC's continuous victory over NBC in the evening news ratings for the past five years will remain.
