In the bitter-cold month of February, networks place their television series in a death match all in the name of ratings. The television industry knows this blood sport event as sweeps.
Recorded by the Nielsen Media Center, the practice known as sweeps is the period occurring every November, February and May, where networks and their advertisers examine the performance of a television series.
During this period, networks try to optimize their viewing audience through big events in the series, such as the 2010 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” featuring a mass shooting or last November’s shocking death of Sophia on “The Walking Dead.”
The data collected through mailed out paper diaries or installed devices in selected homes help determine a series’ survival. The month of February proves to be a crucial time, since this period is the last census before the networks pitch their upcoming fall schedules to advertisers and the media outlets in May. While the method of collecting data seems adequate, some have criticized the networks’ exclusion of data from TiVo and other DVR devices and websites such as Hulu and Apple in their ratings.
Nielsen does compile some data collected from other sources, but networks do not include these figures in their overnight data since advertisers only pay for time on the original broadcast night. As a result, fans of series like “Community” and “Fringe” often record or view new episodes on a website because their time slots are on a highly competitive night or on the weekend. In fact, these shows’ target audiences are college students who do not have access to cable and have no other choice. Often times, networks do not renew these shows due to low numbers.While sweeps may be an antiquated system, the process does serve a purpose and challenges television shows to take bold chances in storytelling. However, the current system is less than perfect with the result of the cancellation of “Chuck.” So this month, tune in to your favorite television shows. Their survival depends on it.