Audience Manipulation

I am not sure if this a recent phenomenon or something that slipped passed me when I was not paying attention. It is not really an issue of any great significance just something that is irritating like a fly that keeps hovering around your ear.

What I find to be annoying is the way that the major networks are plugging the ratings or audience for their shows.

In the past the rating book would be released each week and any interested party could see that show A had so many million viewers, and show B had so many, on and on a number for every show.

Now, I have heard advertising for various shows including the Olympics hyping a cumulative number rather than an episodic number.

For example a show may be watched by 8 million viewers per week good but not great numbers. Nothing you would hype in an ad. Times that by 10 for the amount of weeks the show has been on the air and suddenly you have 80 million viewers that cannot be wrong.

Today it was the Winter Olympics and how over 70 million viewers have been captured by the drama and majesty of the games. Sounds impressive until you break it down by three networks showing various events almost 24 hours per day and suddenly your numbers are not that impressive.