Good rant. Pretty much sums it up. That new system she mentions is good news. Anything to cut through the dubious nielsen results.

EdDantes | March 26, 10:26 CET

She couldn't be more right, and I couldn't agree more.

kaivaal | March 26, 10:30 CET

Afraid not so much Ed, it was a nightmare to impliment it in Boston a few monthes ago and it is pissing a lot of broadcasters off cause Nielsen is now trying to double their fees to report their numbers.

And here's the latest news about Nielsen "Some powerful members of Congress are calling for an external audit of the Nielsen Media Research ratings system. Four House Democrats have written Nielsen--with copies to the major broadcast nets--to complain about what they say is underreporting of Latino viewership by the ratings service. Prompted by a report from the National Hispanic Media Council (NHMC) that charged Nielsen with "severe undercounts," particularly of Latino viewing to English-language programming, Representatives Hilda Solis (Calif.) and Charles Gonzalez (Texas), joined by ranking Commerce Committee Democrat John Dingell (Mich.) and ranking Telecommunications Subcommittee Democrat Ed Markey (Mass.) sent the letter to Nielsen President Susan Whiting Thursday."

RavenU | March 26, 11:14 CET

Man - Save Angel news is really making it all over the place, first CNN and now the trade magazine Broadcating & Cable which ran the following story in today's issue.

Rallying 'Round Angel
Supporters of The WB's Angel are hitting the streets with plans to hold a rally for the show at Warner Bros.' production ranch in Burbank, Calif., March 31. In addition to organizing the rally, the Saving Angel coalition has collected $30,000 from the show's fans to buy print ads in trade publications in support of the show.
The coalition also has barraged The WB with postcards and e-mails begging it to keep the show on the air. The WB announced last month that this would be the last season for Angel, a spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both were created and executive produced by Joss Whedon.
Last season, Angel was on the bubble, but came back in a new time period. The show performed well at the beginning of the season but tapered off substantially after November. It's ratings also fall in repeats, making it difficult for The WB to afford to keep running it.

RavenU | March 26, 11:19 CET

I don't know about Kristen's suggestion under reason number three. Marketing the best shows like they are utter trash did not help Firefly. That scheme certainly never makes me want to watch a network's programming.

With TiVo and DVD, it's becoming easier and easier for people to avoid seeing commercials. In other words, the Nielson system makes less sense now than ever before, because advertisers have no clue as to how many people are actually watching their commercials. I think if there is any hope, the networks should convert to having the viewers subscribe to any show they want to watch. That would be reliable.

G Thing | March 26, 18:27 CET