October 6, 2011
Radha Subramanyam, SVP of Media Analytics
People aren’t just consuming content on social networks, they’re
actively sharing it. As television becomes more digital – in the form
of sharable video clips or articles about a show’s premiere, for example
– social media will continue to play an increasingly important role in
how consumers discover and engage with various forms of content,
including TV.
An analysis conducted by NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey Company, and
Nielsen looked at the correlation between online buzz and television
ratings and found a statistically significant relationship throughout a
TV show’s season among all age groups, with the strongest correlation
among younger demos (people ages 12-17 and 18-34), and a slightly
stronger overall correlation for women compared to men. Men over 50
showed the weakest buzz-to-ratings connection leading up to a show’s
premiere through the middle of the season, but that relationship
strengthened by the finale as all age groups were actively discussing a
TV show via social media.
Among people aged 18-34, the most active social networkers, social
media buzz is most closely aligned with TV ratings for the premiere of a
show. A few weeks prior to a show’s premiere, a nine percent increase
in buzz volume correlates to a one percent increase in ratings among
this group. As the middle of the season approaches and then the
finale, the correlation is slightly weaker, but still significant, with
a 14 percent increase in buzz corresponding to a one percent increase
in ratings.
At the genre level, 18-34 year-old females showed significant
buzz-to-ratings relationships for reality programs (competition and
non-competition), comedies and dramas, while men of the same age saw
strong correlations for competition realities and dramas.
Methodology
A model was created using 250 television programs and over 150
million social media sites to analyze the relationship between social
media and television. Several buzz- and television-related inputs went
into this model. Buzz metrics included buzz volume (the raw number of
messages about a TV show), messages per source (as a proxy for spread of
discussion) and the number of authors (total number of individuals
generating the messages). Fundamental television factors included the
genre of the show, whether the program aired on broadcast or cable, and
the length of time the show had been on-air (first season, second,
etc.). The amount of ad dollars spent promoting the show and prior
ratings (both episode and season) were also considered.
These variables directly impact both ratings and buzz volume. They
were included in the model to account for their contribution to
understanding future TV ratings, and to bring clarity to the value that
buzz provides.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/the-relationship-between-social-media-buzz-and-tv-ratings/
No comments:
Post a Comment