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How does HBO count viewers


tybeechris

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I have all episodes on DVR. Since I have already watched them multiple times, I was thinking about skipping the marathon tonight and watching Top Chef but was wondering if I should just turn TV on again to watch HBO to help increase ratings.

How does HBO count viewers? Do all of us count? I will do anything to help the ratings, well almost anything.

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I have all episodes on DVR. Since I have already watched them multiple times, I was thinking about skipping the marathon tonight and watching Top Chef but was wondering if I should just turn TV on again to watch HBO to help increase ratings.

How does HBO count viewers? Do all of us count? I will do anything to help the ratings, well almost anything.

AFAIK, unless you have a Neilsen box, HBO has no way of knowing what you watch on live tv.

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HBO cares about subscriptions. You can email HBO and say that you will keep subscribing because of this series. If you did subscribe especially for this, even better. A lot of emails like this would be counted I am sure.

Also, I believe they profit from DVD sells, so buy that when you can.

Networks are all about ratings and demos, but HBO is interested in viewers loyalty I believe.

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AFAIK, unless you have a Neilsen box, HBO has no way of knowing what you watch on live tv.

These days, with so many TVs connected to the internet, and cable TV essentially being the same as internet, I wonder why they don't update their ratings systems to be a bit more accurate. They could count true viewing figures rather than estimating. It seems a very old-fashioned way of doing things.

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So you'd be fine with tv company (and god knows who else) having knowledge of what you watch?

...I don't know, I sort of appriciate my privacy a bit more.

Ha, you'd better not post on the internet, then!

I'd assume that you could turn off this hypothetical ratings feature if you were really that worried.

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What about HBO On Demand? If I re-watch episodes through that, does HBO log it as a view?

I believe the cable company does record that information. I'm not sure how exactly the repeat viewing ratings are calculated, however. It might be that they stick with estimates based off a small sample, like how the Neilsen ratings work.

In any event, I would assume HBO gets the full data on HBO On Demand from the cable companies, so they'd know.

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I have all episodes on DVR. Since I have already watched them multiple times, I was thinking about skipping the marathon tonight and watching Top Chef but was wondering if I should just turn TV on again to watch HBO to help increase ratings.

DVR watching is included in some of the Nielsen data (as long as you have a Nielsen set meter), but it doesn't count towards ad rates. The Nielsen rating system is highly flawed in general, though, not only from a statistical standpoint, but also based on the fact that it doesn't cover TV-watching in public places and outside people's homes.

How does HBO count viewers? Do all of us count? I will do anything to help the ratings, well almost anything.

Nielsen counts both households and number of people watching.

The Nielsen ratings for episode 3 were as follows (ratings/share, encores are not included):

Game of Thrones (HBO, 9:02pm, 56 minutes)

- 2.438 M viewers

- 1.5/2 HH

- 1.1/3 A18-49

This means that 1.5% of all TV-households (*) were tuned into that episode at any given time (ratings), and of those who watched TV, 2% were tuned into the program (share). The A18-49 figure is an important number, because people aged 18-49 represents the most significant demographics for advertisers. If the 11 PM airing is included, the total rises to 3.1 M viewers.

In comparison, the pilot episode had an estimated 8.7 M viewers in total, based on encores, HBO On Demand and DVR-watching (according to HBO). The total for episode 3 is likely to be higher.

(*) The total number of TV-households is based on an estimate (approx. 115 M). In other words, it's estimated that 1,73 M TV-households were tuned into episode 3 that day.

What about HBO On Demand? If I re-watch episodes through that, does HBO log it as a view?

Yes, they do. However, these viewings are not included in the Nielsen data.

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