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Fox Blasts Nielsen For Ratings Problems

  • Variety, Wednesday, May 20, 2009 9:45 AM

Fox Networks Group CEO Tony Vinciquerra is criticizing Nielsen Media Research for not acting promptly to correct rating inconsistencies. Vinciquerra says he's frustrated by Nielsen's recent admission that its TV ratings may be off by as much as 8%. "All evidence points to people watching more TV. Yet the [ratings] numbers are going down. I'm having a hard time reconciling all of these facts. I want to know what are they going to do about it," he says.

Vinciquerra believes he's not just speaking for Fox. He says Nielsen is doing a disservice to broadcast and cable networks, as well as advertisers. The issue was serious enough that Fox execs called a meeting with Nielsen on Friday to air their grievances, but Fox wasn't happy with the response.

At issue is Nielsen's recent "In-Panel Validation Initiative," in which the ratings company found that enough people punch the PeopleMeter incorrectly -- especially when viewing in large groups -- that national TV ratings could be off by 8%. Nielsen says the initiative wasn't meant to be an exhaustive survey of how many Nielsen participants use the meter properly, but instead was a look at why different demo groups weren't pushing buttons and how to get them to better comply with the system.

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