But that doesn’t matter. Here’s the basic reality: the Nielsen numbers decide the ad price, if the Nielsen numbers are bad the show gets canceled, whether the Nielsen numbers have anything at all to do with the number of people watching the show is completely besides the point. Those numbers are ALL that matters, and until a network decides to get their numbers and manages to convince their advertisers that the other way is at least as good as they think Nielsen is nothing else matters, nothing else even comes close to maybe mattering.
It is a free market, the numbers decide, just because you and I and everybody else on the planet that not in the business thinks the numbers are a fiction doesn’t change the basic facts.
I see, so when there is an underground system of pay-for-ratings (those that fill out the viewing booklets can Sell their choices for cash) this is considered a Free Market? Maybe a RIGGED Market but it certainly is not Free. And if the factors like race, age, and economic status are fudged to satisfy the PC crowd this would be considered a Free Market? And there is even rumors of a built in system to make sure the "right types" of programs get rated properly to make sure the proper message is sent to the masses.
Nah its not a Free Market, its a carefully controlled system and it is used to manipulate public opinion, time and time again. The thing that is different now is, there is real evidence showing Nielsen's system is wrong and rigged (TIVO DVR data) and there is a movement afoot to squash any challenges to the system.
Check out the campaign to scare people who use DVR/TIVO and their program choices are being monitored. In this scare campaign it is never revealed that there is no personal data attached to this monitoring system, just the basics like demographics and such. Same as Nielsen does.