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Fred Jacobs Asks, 'How Could One Household Wreak So Much Havoc?'
June 20, 2014 at 5:37 AM (PT)
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JACOBS MEDIA CEO FRED JACOBS notes in his latest JACOBLOG post, "It is fascinating to see the jockeying going on in LOS ANGELES as NIELSEN continues to dig into the meters to determine what went wrong. In a story that has now moved any remaining controversy about CASEY KASEM’s illness and passing off the front page, all attention continues to be focused on the efficacy of the ratings, specifically in the L.A. market.
"But around the country, broadcast professionals -- from the corner office to the air studio -- are wondering how one household could wreak so much havoc in the nation’s second-largest market. If it happened in L.A., it could happen anywhere."
If you’re looking for validation in the ratings, studying the often unpredictable variances from month to month ought to tell you that you have a star role in a fool’s game.
JACOBS continues, "If one residence can affect a market the size of LOS ANGELES, what impact could a single family dwelling have in CHARLOTTE. Or MILWAUKEE? Or CLEVELAND? Is the lesson here that NIELSEN had better police its system better? Or that it must increase its PPM sample size? Or that broadcasters are paying too much for ratings that are increasingly unstable? Or does the power of one household to have this type of effect on the ratings suggest something else entirely?"
He then asks, "Maybe -- to turn the phrase -- the fault is in ourselves, not in our stars -- or in this case, the ratings."

