Nielsen's Director Defies Criticism NEW YORK (UPI) - When You Actual Usage

Nielsen's director defies criticism NEW YORK (UPI) - When you actual usage. Thus, if the meters guard the gates of that dark and The top 10 programs for the week show 60 percent of the Nielsens had faceless castle wherein dwell the ending Nov. 1, according to the A.C. their sets on during the World Series Nielsen families, you have a right to Nielsen Co., were and 30 percent of them were watch- be touchy about criticism. There is, 1 World Series Wednesday night ing it, it has a "share" of 50. after all, so much of it. game (ABC). A single rating point, dependent William R. Behanna, the man in 2 60 Minutes (CBS) upon the supply and demand profile charge of media relations for that 3 CBS movie, "Every Which Way of the marketplace, can mean $250 dracoman ruler of network program- but Loose (CBS) million in revenue to the network. ing, the A C. Nielsen Co , is, if not 4MASH (CBS) In addition, Nielsen and Arbitron touchy, at least resigned. 5 Dallas (CBS) both run "sweeps" four tunes a year How, he was asked, can a mere 1,-2- 50 6 Three's Company (ABC) in which they mail diaries to about Nielsen-metere- d households out 7 World Series Wednesday pre-ga- me 225,000 homes. About half of those of 81.5 million television homes accu- show (ABC) agree to cooperate. The sweep is a rately reflect what all the rest are 8 NFL post game show (CBS) local market measurement during watching, thereby giving a "Dallas" 9 Too Close for Comfort (ABC). which the networks pack their sched- its awesome commercial clout while 10 NFL Football (ABC) ules with their strongest programs in burying a "Hill Street Blues?" a bid to strengthen their bargaining "If you know nothing about sam- power with advertisers pling or statistical mathematics, changing discontinuing one home Behanna is aware that all the logic there's nothing I can say that can and recruiting and installing equip- in the world will not make the Niel- convince you," Behanna said. ment in another. It's interference sen rating palatable to the viewer If Behanna was not willing to almost industrial espionage. You'd whose favorite show has ust been "sell" the system, however, he was be tampering with my business. banished from the tube for lack of willing to explain and defend it not "I want to avoid any connotation them, but he does wish people would only against criticism, but also that I'm paying you to view tele- stop thinking of the system as some against pushy TV columnists who vision," said Behanna. "When we sort of evil conspiracy. have, in the past, advertised for Niel- come m and disrupt the house for a sen families to come forward and be day putting in the equipment, we "It's not a question of belief or dis- interviewed with anonymity guar- give you a cash gift of 25 bucks for belief," he said. "You don't have to anteed. putting up with this mess. believe in the Nielsen ratings that The latter have been swiftly re- "Thereafter, we will pay one half 1,250 homes can do the job. I have no buffed by Nielsen lawyers who can of all your regular TV repair bills, objection to that. I would prefer that be very persuasive when they start with the exclusion of work done on you did believe, and I think I could talking about "industrial espionage" antennas. Anything that would alter convince you over a long tune." and its penalties in civil court. Ex- your ability to receive and thereby Behanna would be the last to claim planation of the Nielsen system itself alter your viewing habits is some- that anything in the business of pro- is less threatening. thing we don't want to disturb." jecting macrocosms from micro- When it comes to measuring what Here, then tamper-fre- e is how cosms is exact, and Nielsen ratings TV programs most Americans are it works: are compiled with a plus-or-min- us watching in prune tune, Nielsen and A single household rating point ratio of error. Arbitron are the only games in town. amounts to one percent of all TV "It's a yardstick that might not be But only Nielsen attaches full-tu-ne households in the nation or on a exactly a yard long," he said. "It is meters to sets in 1,250 homes, so its market-to-mark- et basis, depending not absolute that 'Dallas' was No. 1 weekly ratings are the ones net- on the type of sample drawn as last week, but the odds say it was. works use to price commercials. projected from the sample audience. The odds that it really was No. 2 are Nielsen also has about 2,500 "diary For example', if 1,000 homes were long and the odds against it really homes," in which participants are being metered and 299 of them being No. 11 are just astronomical." asked to log their viewing habits and watched the first game of the World Like them or loathe them, the Niel- provide such demographic informa- Senes, then that game would win a sen ratings will be the yardstick until tion as age, sex and economic status Nielsen rating of 29.9. someone comes up with a better sys- of people doing the watching. "It's using the microcosm to pro- tem such as having every set in Because it is a very expensive ject the macrocosm," said Behanna. the nation measured through two-wa- y proposition to change those homes, But ratings aren't the only mea- interactive cable which would Nielsen guards them jealously sure the Nielsen homes provide. eliminate the meter. against any form of tampering. They also show audience "share." Making "Dallas" or killing "Hill "We could prove financial damage Among the Nielsen households, not Street Blues" is a very small part of in the event tliat there were a large all 1,250 are watching television at it. If it weren't for the "emotional number of homes or not even a the same tune. A "share" is the per- problem," it's a statistical probabili- large" number exposed or identi- centage of people who actually are ty that fewer than 1.68 television re- fied," Behanna said. "We would watching a given program and it is porters would interview Behanna in have to go through the process of determined by dividing the rating by a given year