Search: february sweeps
Why: My programs have been airing all erratic-like for the last few weeks. I know that "sweeps" are related to ratings, and that advertising is a big deal during these times, but, like ... why?
Answer: Well, wouldn't you know - Nielsen is behind it! Everybody knows about the "Nielsen box" Set Meters hidden in a bunch of secret homes across America, causing masterpieces like "Arrested Development" to get canceled while letting abominations like "Whitney" terrorize innocent TV owners for months on end.
WELL, Nielsen collects data in many other ways, too. One of their other methods is to send out 2 million paper diaries to homes across the country. Household members record what they watch in the diaries for 7 days (or 8 if they have a DVR). Here is a real one:
The diaries are sent out to different regions each week for a month (Northeast, then South, then Midwest, West), then literally swept up from each place to be processed. Swept! Sweeps! They're sweeping the nation!
Source: Math in the Media, Wikipedia
The More You Know: Standard sweeps weeks are in November, February, May, and July. In some bigger markets, they do additional sweeps in October, January, and March. In case you've lost count, that's special data-collecting periods in 7 of the 12 months of the year. 7.
I have a nielsen diary! we were asked when we moved in. but i'm trying hard to only watch good shows! (30rock, parks and rec, modern fam) and definitely not Shiz like Whitney :D
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