This is the bottom line. Life and death for TV shows is based on advertising. Ad rates are set by the ratings. The rating system is pure BS. I don't care what Nielsen says (Nielsen | Audience is Everything), there's NO WAY you can accurately measure what's being watched on TV, unless you measure EVERYONE, and not just a sample. The science behind it may be credible, but you're not talking about making soup and puling carrots out of a soup. This is about personal tastes. Ask yourself this question. Do YOU have a Nielsen box? I don't. Do YOU get the diary? I don't. How in the hell do THEY know what I watch?
Anyway, we have to show ABC that we are watching. Even stars of Alias believe that more people are watching the show than what's being shown in the ratings. Here's what I feel must be done, and it has to be a coordinated, cooperative effort.
One website (it should actually be ABC's, but this site would suffice) should select ONE product advertised on the show that is affordable for all who watch. Evryone who watched Alias that week should go out and BUY that product. It might be shampoo. It might be a jar of spaghetti sauce. Doesn't matter. THEN take the receipt, label or proof of purchase...date it and make a copy of it, then send one copy to ABC Entertainment, and the other to the company who makes that product.
If the ratings show that six or seven million homes watch Alias, but ABC gets nine or ten million pieces of mail, what do you think they'll think? Granted, it's unrealistic that they'll get ten million pieces of mail, but it's a more accurate depiction of how many people are watching, and they might do more to protect the show. That's my suggestion. Feedback?
Anyway, we have to show ABC that we are watching. Even stars of Alias believe that more people are watching the show than what's being shown in the ratings. Here's what I feel must be done, and it has to be a coordinated, cooperative effort.
One website (it should actually be ABC's, but this site would suffice) should select ONE product advertised on the show that is affordable for all who watch. Evryone who watched Alias that week should go out and BUY that product. It might be shampoo. It might be a jar of spaghetti sauce. Doesn't matter. THEN take the receipt, label or proof of purchase...date it and make a copy of it, then send one copy to ABC Entertainment, and the other to the company who makes that product.
If the ratings show that six or seven million homes watch Alias, but ABC gets nine or ten million pieces of mail, what do you think they'll think? Granted, it's unrealistic that they'll get ten million pieces of mail, but it's a more accurate depiction of how many people are watching, and they might do more to protect the show. That's my suggestion. Feedback?
