You'll be hearing a lot about something called "Battleground" during the next week or two. Don't dismiss it as the latest big-budget bomb-drop at your local multiplex. Instead, pay close attention to it, because this awesome little production is actually a very solid entertainment property that might occupy a permanent place in media history as the first television series that did not debut on a television network.

The common currency for commercial measurement is C3, which we defined in a previous column earlier this year as the average of the performance of all commercials in a program plus three days of DVR playback. But there are other commercial measurement metrics in use by measurement companies today. Here is a sampling of some of the more common terms and definitions regarding live commercial ratings.

There has been a lot of press on the drop in Nickelodeon's ratings, but no absolute confirmation on what has caused the drop, or which networks if any have gained. MPG's Collaborative Alliance STB Data Committee was intrigued and decided to investigate. As part of last week's Collaborative Think Tank meeting run by MPG Executive Vice President Mitch Oscar, the group shared some data findings to spark an industry conversation about cause and effect.

The media has been having a field day with the news that ratings for the opening weeks of Fox's "American Idol" are down from last year. Heaven knows it hasn't been a slow entertainment news period, especially where talent shows on Fox are concerned, so I have to wonder what all the fuss is about. We're talking about a program that is in its eleventh season -- one that made its debut approximately 10 1/2 years ago. How can its ratings not be down? Isn't it bigger news that, even with its ratings in decline, "Idol" can still outperform the …