Quote of the day…
Overnight program ratings continue to serve as snapshots of show performance for media reports and network promotions, and they do include same-day DVR viewership. But because they no longer represent the costs for advertisements, they are less relevant than before.
- Brian Stelter in the New York Times.
But on the other hand…
The guaranteed audience for the program and for the ads “were the same before. Now they’re not,” said David Poltrack, the head of research for CBS.
The broadcast networks, in their daily ratings reports, now add caveats about DVR usage and commercial ratings delays. But Preston Beckman, the executive in charge of scheduling for Fox, dismissed suggestions that the new ratings make it impractical to judge the fall lineups yet.
“We have a pretty good idea about what shows are successful and what shows are failing,” he said; the overnight ratings provide directional cues.
