Ever wonder where they get those Neilson ratings from; I have. As it turns out, it’s less a mystery than you may think. One day a few months back I received a phone call asking if I watch a significant amount of television, and if so, would I consider doing a survey. As it turned out, it was from the marketing company that recruits for the Neilson ratings.

A few weeks later my family and I received survey sheets, one for every cable box registered to the house. The survey itself was simple to follow and fill out.

Basically they wanted to know what was being watched on each television and when. As easy as it was to fill out, I had a problem with how they only wanted to really know the when and what I was watching.

They never asked me why I watched that particular show, nor my insights as to making it better, etc. Yes, at the end of the survey they had a tiny space for comments, but the space provided was too small to really offer opinions on one show, let alone the full range of television I watch weekly.

In all, I enjoyed the experience, but was left feeling as though my opinions were not of interest to them. I look forward to doing it again in November, more for the opportunity to tell them this, than to have my viewing recorded.