Wednesday, December 1, 2010

FAQ Time

I'm in the process of learning a couple things since starting to put the final ratings on this blog (specifically, cable) so figured it was time for a little informational / FAQ / disclaimer-ish post.

1) I only get ratings for prime time (8-11pm Mon-Sat, 7-11pm Sun). So, if something airs at 7pm and ends by 7:30pm on Wednesday... I don't have the info. Sorry! However if something, for some reason, aired from 7pm to 8:01pm... I will have it. Yes, if even a minute of a program airs during the prime time, and I get info for that network, I will have the ratings.

2) For cable, I only get full program ratings, so I can't give 15 minute breakdowns.

3) For broadcast, I do get 15 minute breakdowns... but it's a little time intensive and, in general, not that interesting/informative (if something has a big hit lead-in and the lead-out's average is down from that lead-in... you can bet the first 15 minutes are the highest rated and it's downhill from there). I try to post 15 minute breakdowns for series premieres or, for certain special shows that I have a particular ratings interest, the season premieres (i.e. Idol, Glee). Again... it takes time that I sadly don't have.

4) I am not aware of all cable series or what airs when/where/etc. But if you are, and I've missed something / not included something in my posts... please continue to let me know via comment requests or replying to @travisyanan on Twitter. When you do that, please tell me both the network the show airs on and the time.

5) I am more than happy to fill specific requests for ratings info for original airings. Why for original airings only? Posting rerun ratings (unless I've accidentally confused a rerun's ratings with an original... it does happen) is a problem for me because while I get a lot of ratings info for cable, see above, re time. It's a slippery slope, posting rerun ratings for a request to being expected to post every single data point I get for every airing in prime time. Or at least I see it as such. So I'm just not willing to start down that path.

6) Similarly, if there is a specific demographic that you'd like to see info on... I'm happy to comply. But please tell me why. I don't know, outside of press releases, what specific networks target. I currently post K2-11 for Cartoon Network shows, T12-17 and K2-11 for Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows, W18-34 and T12-17 for ABC Family shows, W18-34 for MTV shows, and M18-34 for South Park (and whatever is leading out of it) because I know those are targets.

7) Unless there is a presidential speech or some big event (i.e. the election), I don't post cable news numbers. TVbytheNumbers.com does a fantastic job with those with data I don't get (the 35-64 demo) and, frankly, I've looked at the comment stream there and I'm not interested in getting a bunch of comments every day about how Rachel Maddow is a lesbian vampire or Bill O'Reilly is a racist douchebag.

8) I don't get/post Saturday ratings unless I'm aware of a special event.

Thanks for reading and commenting!

2 comments:

Another Whiner said...

Out of curiosity, why do you list the A18-34 and W18-34 for Raising Hope and Running Wilde. I know last season Fox said they were trying to attract W18-34 with Glee and SYTYCD, so it made sense then. And this season Glee's A18-34 and W18-34 are interesting because they are so big. But do you just list them for RH and RW to show how much they lose from Glee? I don't think Fox was specifically targeting those demos this season, at least no more than with any other show.

Travis Yanan said...

@Julia

I list those demos for Glee, so I figured that I'd list them for the lead-outs. My intention isn't to say "look how much they lose!" (especially as I'm rapidly becoming enamored of Raising Hope)