Question 1

Television ratings in all local markets take place
A)twice a year.
B)four times a year.
C)six times a year.
D)each month.
E)according to market size.

Accepted Answer

Television ratings in local markets are measured four times a year during what are known as "sweeps" periods. These occur in February, May, July, and November.

Question 2

Ratings reports for syndicated television shows are provided by
A)Nielsen.
B)Arbitron.
C)RADAR.
D)Gallup.
E)SRI.

Accepted Answer

Nielsen is the company that provides ratings reports for syndicated television shows. Arbitron provides ratings for radio shows, RADAR provides ratings for network radio, Gallup provides public opinion polling, and SRI provides market research and consulting services.

Question 3

Data used in compiling "sweeps" information for most markets are obtained from
A)aided recall interviews.
B)passive meters.
C)people meters.
D)viewer diaries.
E)theater testing.

Accepted Answer

Viewer diaries are used to collect data during sweeps periods, where participants record their viewing habits, providing information on audience size and demographics.

Question 4

Nielsen's regular broadcast network television ratings are based on
A)a sample of people-metered homes.
B)television diaries from twenty-two key cities.
C)passive meters in ten key cities.
D)a combination of television diaries and passive-metered homes.
E)overnight diaries in the top fifty markets.

Accepted Answer

Nielsen's regular broadcast network television ratings are based on a sample of people-metered homes. A small percentage of homes in the United States are equipped with electronic people meters that record what is being watched and by whom. Nielsen uses these people metered homes to estimate national television ratings.

Question 5

The only service that provides ratings for network radio is
A)Arbitron.
B)Nielsen.
C)Cassandra.
D)RADAR.
E)NSI.

Accepted Answer

RADAR (Radio's All Dimension Audience Research) is the only service that provides ratings for network radio. Arbitron, Nielsen, Cassandra, and NSI provide ratings for local radio stations, but not for the entire network.

Question 6

Which of the following statements reflects the networks' initial response to people meters?
A)Very favorable because network ratings showed a large increase.
B)Moderately favorable because network ratings showed a modest increase.
C)Moderately unfavorable because of the added expense.
D)Unfavorable because network ratings dropped.
E)Indifference because ratings did not change.

Accepted Answer

Networks initially responded unfavorably to people meters because these devices showed that network ratings dropped, providing a more accurate representation of viewership that often did not favor the networks.

Question 7

Viewer diaries for daily ratings
A)provide a problem-free method of data collection.
B)have a few problems, but nothing that affects the validity of the sample.
C)have problems due to distorted reporting and diary fatigue.
D)have major problems due to theft, hyping, and expense.
E)are as reliable as telephone coincidentals yet less expensive.

Accepted Answer

Viewer diaries may suffer from distorted reporting due to memory bias or a tendency to overestimate or underestimate viewing time. Diary fatigue is also a common problem, where viewers may become tired of documenting their viewing habits and become less accurate over time. Therefore, viewer diaries have problems that could impact the validity of the sample.

Question 8

In the future, researchers may replace people meters with
A)diaries.
B)Audimeters.
C)telephone coincidentals.
D)telephone recall.
E)passive peoplemeters.

Accepted Answer

Passive peoplemeters are becoming increasingly popular as they do not require any input from the viewer and can track TV viewership in a more accurate and efficient way than traditional people meters.

Question 9

Sampling simplifies three aspects of ratings research
A)behavior, time, and number of people.
B)opinions, attitudes, and number of people.
C)sample frames, demographics, and psychographics.
D)error, probability, and response rate.
E)opinions, demographics, and number of people.

Accepted Answer

Sampling simplifies the process of ratings research by focusing on behavior, time, and the number of people involved, making it more manageable and efficient.

Question 10

Regardless of method, audience measurement is based on
A)convenience sampling.
B)random selection.
C)saturation analysis.
D)amended computations.
E)sampling effects.

Accepted Answer

Audience measurement should be based on random selection to ensure that the sample accurately represents the population being measured. Convenience sampling, where individuals are chosen because they are easy to reach, can introduce bias into the sample. Saturation analysis, amended computations, and sampling effects are not commonly used methods for audience measurement.

Question 11

The concept of diminishing returns is used to explain
A)choice of sample size.
B)random digit dialing techniques.
C)response rate.
D)sampling error.
E)market definition.

Accepted Answer

Diminishing returns refers to a situation in which the marginal benefit of adding one more unit of input decreases as more input is added. In regards to sample size, increasing the size of a sample beyond a certain point can lead to diminishing returns, as the additional data collected may not provide valuable or meaningful information. Therefore, choosing the optimal sample size is important to avoid diminishing returns.

Question 12

To draw a random sample for a local market survey, researchers often begin with
A)updated telephone directories or census tracts.
B)interviews of people at local shopping malls.
C)county tax records.
D)auto license records.
E)voter registration lists.

Accepted Answer

Updated telephone directories or census tracts are better options for drawing a random sample as they can provide a comprehensive and current list of individuals living in a particular area. The other options may not accurately represent the population and may result in biased samples.

Question 13

Sampling error refers to
A)mistakes made in gathering data.
B)statistical laws of probability.
C)difference between a rating and a share.
D)sample turnover.
E)cume ratings for radio programming.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sampling error refers to
A)mistakes made in gathering...

Question 14

Which of the following would not describe Designated Market Areas?
A)A DMA is comprised of one or more counties in which the stations are most viewed.
B)A DMA is comprised of a station's county of license.
C)DMAs are larger in the West where cities are farther apart than in the eastern United States.
D)A county may be assigned to more than one DMA if television signals from competing stations in different markets are received there.
E)Each county is assigned to only one DMA.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following would not describe...

Question 15

Which of the following best explains the relationship between ratings and share figures?
A)Shares will be larger than ratings for the same time period.
B)Ratings will be larger than shares for the same time period.
C)Shares and ratings are typically the same for a given time period.
D)Ratings and shares vary inversely to each other.
E)No relationship exists because you cannot predict shares based on ratings.

Accepted Answer

Shares represent the percentage of households or individuals watching a particular program out of the total number of households or individuals with TVs in use at the time. Ratings represent the percentage out of all potential households or individuals with TVs, regardless of whether those TVs are in use. Therefore, shares will typically be larger than ratings for the same time period because the denominator in the share calculation is smaller, only accounting for TVs in use, not all TVs.

Question 16

If a prime-time network program has a 30 rating and a 40 share, and there are 100 million U.S.households, in approximately how many of those households was there at least one person watching the program?
A)10 million
B)30 million
C)40 million
D)60 million
E)70 million

Accepted Answer

A program's rating is the percentage of the total potential audience that was watching, so a 30 rating means 30% of 100 million households, or 30 million households, were watching.

Question 17

If a television programmer wants to know how he or she is doing against the competition, he or she would assess the program's
A)HUT.
B)sample.
C)share.
D)PUR.
E)cume.

Accepted Answer

Share is the measurement that compares the program's ratings to the ratings of other programs airing at the same time. HUT (homes using television) measures the percentage of homes that have their televisions turned on. Sample refers to the group of people who participate in the ratings system. PUR (persons using radio) and cume (cumulative audience) are measurements used in radio programming, not television.

Question 18

Which measurement unit is widely used in radio to measure how many different listeners tuned to a radio station?
A)Cume
B)Persons Using Radio (PUR)
C)Quarter-hour ratings
D)Daypart share figures
E)Drive-time ratings

Accepted Answer

Cume (short for cumulative audience) is widely used in radio to measure how many unique listeners or different people tuned to a radio station over a specified period of time, typically a week or a month. It is an important metric for radio stations as it indicates the size of their audience reach. The other options are either not specific to unique listeners (e.g. daypart share figures) or measure average audience size rather than unique listeners (e.g. quarter-hour ratings).

Question 19

The greatest abusers of the current ratings system are
A)advertisers, who insist on quantitative rather than qualitative data.
B)audience members who, when chosen to be part of a ratings sample, alter their viewing and listening habits.
C)advertisers, networks, and stations, which treat figures as precise measurements rather than as estimates.
D)ratings services, which ignore sampling error when preparing data.
E)programmers, who insist on qualitative rather than quantitative data.

Accepted Answer

Advertisers, networks, and stations rely too heavily on the ratings figures as precise measurements rather than estimates. They often make decisions based on small fluctuations in ratings, which can lead to inaccurate assessments of a program's success. This can result in canceling shows prematurely or investing in programs that aren't actually performing well.

Question 20

The term "hyping," when applied to broadcast ratings, means that
A)someone deliberately manipulates ratings data.
B)data favorable to client stations are used and unfavorable data are discarded.
C)devious statistical methods are used to inflate the true figures.
D)inaccurate data are entered into the ratings mix.
E)special contests and/or atypical programs are aired by the station being measured.

Accepted Answer

"Hyping" refers to a station airing special contests or atypical programs in order to inflate their ratings for that particular period. This can artificially increase the station's popularity and overall ratings, but it is not a manipulation of the actual ratings data.

Quiz 9: Audience Measurement

Television ratings in all local markets take place

Ratings reports for syndicated television shows are provided by

Data used in compiling "sweeps" information for most markets are obtained from

Nielsen's regular broadcast network television ratings are based on

The only service that provides ratings for network radio is

Which of the following statements reflects the networks' initial response to people meters?

Viewer diaries for daily ratings

In the future, researchers may replace people meters with

Sampling simplifies three aspects of ratings research

Regardless of method, audience measurement is based on

The concept of diminishing returns is used to explain

To draw a random sample for a local market survey, researchers often begin with

Sampling error refers to

Which of the following would not describe Designated Market Areas?

Which of the following best explains the relationship between ratings and share figures?

If a prime-time network program has a 30 rating and a 40 share, and there are 100 million U.S.households, in approximately how many of those households was there at least one person watching the program?

If a television programmer wants to know how he or she is doing against the competition, he or she would assess the program's

Which measurement unit is widely used in radio to measure how many different listeners tuned to a radio station?

The greatest abusers of the current ratings system are

The term "hyping," when applied to broadcast ratings, means that