Measuring TV audiences keeps getting harder
Whereas most people still watch big sporting events live, around half of Americans use digital-video recorders (DVRs) to watch shows later, or order “video on demand” from their set-top boxes. They are also watching more TV on their computers, tablets and smartphones—particularly younger folk. Nielsen’s data say that cable and broadcast ratings in America are down by 8% for 18- to 24-year-olds compared with a year earlier. If that is true, advertising dollars could migrate. But young things may simply be watching the same shows on other devices, where viewing is harder to track. No one knows.
