Skip to main content

Soon chatting about your favorite shows on Facebook will affect their Nielsen ratings

netflix vs porn hotel room entertainment person watching tv
baranqv / Shutterstock.com
Measuring a TV show’s audience has always been tough, as viewer numbers are based on a relatively small sample size, but Nielsen keeps trying to utilize new technology to improve the accuracy of its ratings. Soon, it will begin factoring in Facebook activity as part of how it measures a show’s audience.

This isn’t the first time that Nielsen has used social media this way. In 2013 the company began measuring Twitter discussion as complementary data to its traditional TV ratings measurements. Facebook activity will be added to this separate measurement, which will now be known as Social Content Ratings.

“This is the next big step for us because now for the first time we are going to be able to really have a holistic understanding of the social activity across platform(s),” Nielsen Social president Sean Casey told USA Today.

Nielsen won’t get any user-specific information, but Facebook will supply the company with aggregate user data. Both posts shared publicly and those shared with friends, family, and followers will be measured. The Social Content Ratings will measure activity around live TV events and original series from both traditional TV networks and streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video.

As the way we watch TV continues to change, Nielsen needs to keep up with our viewing habits. With streaming providers like Netflix downplaying the importance of ratings and declining to share viewer numbers, this is likely the best way currently possible to measure which shows really resonate with their audiences.

“The social TV phenomenon is really documented,” Casey said. “Today when people are watching TV, they are not watching alone on their couches or waiting until the next day to go into work and talk about programs. They are doing it immediately on their second screen across social platforms.”

Nielsen says it will begin measuring Facebook data during the first half of 2016, with Instagram activity being added sometime later.

Editors' Recommendations

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
All of James Cameron’s movies, ranked
Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator.

At the 1998 Oscars, James Cameron infamously declared that he was "king of the world" while picking up the awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Titanic. As much as that line didn't go over well at the time, it's kind of hard to argue against Cameron. In the last 42 years, Cameron has directed nine feature films, three of which are among the highest-grossing movies of all time. He's not just one of the top directors in Hollywood -- Cameron is the most successful director ever.

Later this year, Cameron's breakout picture, The Terminator, will celebrate its 40th anniversary. In honor of that milestone, we're taking a look back at all of James Cameron's movies and ranking them from worst to first. Note that we're limiting this list to the feature films that Cameron directed, and not counting the two documentaries he helmed as well.
9. Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)

Read more
The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now
A woman stands in front of microphones with a man clapping behind her.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world, with nearly 250 million subscribers. And just what do those people tend to watch? In particular, what is the most popular movie on Netflix? Each week, the streaming service releases a list of its 10 most-watched movies over a recent seven-day period to keep subscribers in the loop regarding its most popular titles.

Lindsay Lohan's Irish Wish has won over the hearts of Netflix subscribers as it moved into the top spot, with Damsel falling to No. 2. One of the notable debuts this week is Shirley, a biopic about the groundbreaking politician Shirley Chisholm, played here by Oscar winner Regina King. Below, we've listed the top 10 movies in the U.S. from March 18 to March 24, along with general information about each film, such as genre, rating, cast, and synopsis.

Read more
10 best R-rated movies streaming right now
A woman and her child stands next to a dead body in Anatomy of a Fall.

R-rated movies are typically expected by audiences to push the boundaries of what can be depicted on the big screen. Whether it's gory horror movies or steamy erotic thrillers, these movies were designed specifically to get an "R" rating and be shown primarily to adults.

From modern masterpieces like Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer to classics like Alien, some of the best R-rated movies ever made are available to stream on different platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Max. With bold narratives and unfiltered realism, these are great picks for an enjoyable movie night among adult friends.

Read more