There are few forces more powerful in the TV world than Nielsen Ratings, which track the size and demographics of television audiences (and directly impact the amount a network can charge advertisers to run commercials on a TV show). But thanks to a "software bug," Nielsen has been misreporting the ratings of broadcast and syndicated TV shows — and they've been doing it since March.
In a conference call, Nielsen conceded that an internal investigation uncovered an error that resulted in inflated ratings for the broadcast networks. The organization stressed that "98 to 99 percent" of ratings would be affected by less than .05 percent of a ratings point.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can Elon Musk really lead the House?The Explainer The Constitution is silent about whether non-members of Congress can be elected House speaker
-
'Welcome to America's customer service nightmare'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
2024: the year of the X-odusIN THE SPOTLIGHT How a year of controversy turned social media juggernaut X into 2024's hottest platform to leave
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
