• by Wayne Friedman , October 29, 2013

There are TV ratings -- and then how viewers really feel about specific TV shows.

Media buying and selling software company Strata says the difference is clear when observing some of this season’s new TV shows.

For example, while CBS’ new comedy “The Millers” pulled in a Nielsen 13.3 million viewers for its premiere, Strata says in its “sentiment” survey that only 3% of its respondents listed it as their favorite new show. NBC's "The Blacklist" pulled in about the same number of total viewers at 12.6 million. But it gained a much higher 15% positive rating as a favorite new show.

Another new NBC show also revealed the difference between positive sentiment and traditional TV ratings: “The Michael J. Fox Show" pulled in an 11% positive score, while earning a score of Nielsen 7.5 million viewers.

It compares favorably to CBS's new show running on the same night, “The Crazy Ones,” featuring longtime TV/entertainment brand Robin Williams. While “Ones” pulled in a big 15.6 million viewers, it only took in a 4% positive sentiment score.

Still, CBS scored well overall -- it tied NBC as the networks with the best new programming when it comes to Strata “sentiment” survey. ABC came in third, followed by Fox in fourth and AMC in fifth.

But there isn’t always a disconnect between Nielsen ratings and sentiment. CBS’ highly rated "The Big Bang Theory" received 13% of the vote for viewers' overall favorite show -- the best of any program.

Strata’s survey says the network brand association and its shows can be confusing.

Seventy-six percent of "NCIS" viewers, 73% of "The Big Bang Theory" viewers, and 63% of "How I Met Your Mother" watchers were able to identify these as CBS shows. At ABC, 77% "Scandal" viewers and 56% of "Modern Family" could properly identify those shows with the ABC network.

Some cable networks have a better brand connection with viewers. For example, 94% of "Sons of Anarchy" viewers identified it as an FX show.

Strata conducted the national online survey of 533 TV watchers age 18 or older between October 17-18, 2013. The respondents were 51.6% female and 48.4% male .