UPN, Enterprise, and the Ratings

[VaBeachGuy 12]

From their response, it seems they are assuming all emails received are in support of the series so you're plan may actually backfire on you.

302484[/snapback]

That's exactly what it means.

 

Lets say they get 100,000 total emails. 60,000 saying "Keep Enterprise on the air" and 40,000 saying "Kill Enterprise", since no one is actually reading the emails and the same canned response is being given to them all then when "TPTB" look at the public resposne they will see 100,000 emails and think "Well there's 100,000 people that like Enterprise."

 

So keep up the good work and send those unread emails. Every little bit helps :biggrin:

[HRH The KING 0]

Click For Spoiler

King, the response you got to your email is the same one they sent to everyone who emailed in - no matter what position they took.

 

Yes they did. It happens often with certain e-mails. You send it, and you get a standard response regardless of what you said.

 

From their response, it seems they are assuming all emails received are in support of the series so you're plan may actually backfire on you

 

I don't think so. I doubt they honestly even read any of the feedback that comes in. It happens on other sites. If I wrote "A monkey lives in the trees" I would get the reply of "We thankyou for you feedback, your message has been sent to the appropriate department" or something like that.

 

The statement they issued when the show was cancelled is pretty much the same as the reply they send to feedback e-mails.

 

Lets say they get 100,000 total emails.

 

Let's assume you are right for one second VBG. What difference would that make? One hundred thousand e-mails could come from simply a much smaller pool of senders. Even IF those e-mails accounted for single viewers, it's still only one hundred thousand viewers. It's just not enough. If it were around ten MILLION e-mails, then you have a point, but then again, if that many people were sending pro-ENT e-mails to UPN, then the viewing figures would be higher anyway.

 

I don't think anything has backfired or that "every little bit helps" because like I pointed out in my post, they accept that the audience is very small and that's why the show is coming to it's end.

Edited February 11, 2005 by The King

[mj 7]

Hello,

 

Thank you for writing to UPN. The STAR TREK legacy has spanned nearly four decades and has spawned five television series. Ten years ago, STAR TREK: VOYAGER was instrumental in helping launch UPN.

 

The latest incarnation, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, has reached the culmination of its journey. This painstaking decision came after it was recognized that despite having many loyal fans like you, the audience for the show was declining steadily. Therefore, ENTERPRISE is set to decommission and will be given a grand send-off on Friday, May 13th at 8 PM ET/PT on UPN.

 

This does not mean that STAR TREK is gone forever. Paramount, the studio that produced all five television series and ten feature films, is looking forward to the next chapter of the STAR TREK saga.

 

We know that this information may not make you feel any better but we want you to know how much we appreciate your input and we sincerely hope that you will continue to share your thoughts with us in the future.

 

Cordially

 

UPN

Viewer Services

 

302319[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

I just received this letter today. I have not e-mailed any petitions or letters for saving Enterprise yet. I did not write to them. The letter was a response to something I have not yet written!!!!

 

UPN is acting pre-emptively. They used my e-mail from a complaint I had against my local UPN station, and e-mailed me BEFORE hearing from me about the cancellation.

[Capt_Picard 0]

UPN said they were going to kick the show at the worst time. All the storys from mid spring til the end of the season will be packed with stuf and will most like be poor on the ratings. I think it is time that we move to "no matter what, get it to some one else" and we better do it fast. I personaly am working on a video to send to CBS, Sci-Fi, and UPN to ask then not to let Enterprise go. As Spock said "The needs of the many out weight the needs of the few, or the one!

Edited February 13, 2005 by mj

[HRH The KING 0]

I just received this letter today. I have not e-mailed any petitions or letters for saving Enterprise yet. I did not write to them. The letter was a response to something I have not yet written!!!!

 

:( :blink:

 

That is weird. :biggrin:

 

As Spock said "The needs of the many out weight the needs of the few, or the one!

 

Yes, but the problem is that in ENT's case, the "FEW" really aren't that "MANY".

 

<_<

[Odie 0]

Hello,

 

Thank you for writing to UPN. The STAR TREK legacy has spanned nearly four decades and has spawned five television series. Ten years ago, STAR TREK: VOYAGER was instrumental in helping launch UPN.

 

The latest incarnation, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE, has reached the culmination of its journey. This painstaking decision came after it was recognized that despite having many loyal fans like you, the audience for the show was declining steadily. Therefore, ENTERPRISE is set to decommission and will be given a grand send-off on Friday, May 13th at 8 PM ET/PT on UPN.

 

This does not mean that STAR TREK is gone forever. Paramount, the studio that produced all five television series and ten feature films, is looking forward to the next chapter of the STAR TREK saga.

 

We know that this information may not make you feel any better but we want you to know how much we appreciate your input and we sincerely hope that you will continue to share your thoughts with us in the future.

 

Cordially

 

UPN

Viewer Services

 

302319[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

I just received this letter today. I have not e-mailed any petitions or letters for saving Enterprise yet. I did not write to them. The letter was a response to something I have not yet written!!!!

 

UPN is acting pre-emptively. They used my e-mail from a complaint I had against my local UPN station, and e-mailed me BEFORE hearing from me about the cancellation.

302756[/snapback]

That is wierd. But that is also some bad news, because I don't think that they will read the e-mails just send automatic replys to anything that might have Enterprise in it.

[Takara_Soong 4]

That is wierd.  But that is also some bad news, because I don't think that they will read the e-mails just send automatic replys to anything that might have Enterprise in it.

302864[/snapback]

 

I don't look at it as being bad news. I never believed they were reading all of the emails that were sent because of the volume of email. I think by sending this acknowledgement they are hoping they will appease those of us trying to save the series so we will stop sending emails, letters, etc. but that's not going to work.

[Odie 0]

It very easy to sent up a program to send automatic replys to the e-mails. Program could look it this: screen out e-mail with Enterprise, send reply, and than delate e-mail. The e-mails could be for or against and they don't have read it. One thing with snail mail is that they are forced to open the letter and read it.

[Takara_Soong 4]

It very easy to sent up a program to send automatic replys to the e-mails.  Program could look it this:  screen out e-mail with Enterprise, send reply, and than delate e-mail.  The e-mails could be for or against and they don't have read it.  One thing with snail mail is that they are forced to open the letter and read it.

303054[/snapback]

 

True, but with mj's experience they seem to have gone into some sort of database of emails they have received in the past. What you said is also why we are encouraging people to write instead of email.

[Odie 0]

Yes! I just should have said that in the first place. Since they are now send automatic replies we need to change our tactics. Sending more e- mails will just get the same response. A letter has more impact than e-mail. It makes it more personal, because it shows that the person took the time to write the letter and send it. E-mail can just be sent hundreds if not thousands at a time, and there is little change that they would have gotten read. The e-mails can even look like and even viewed as spam.

[HRH The KING 0]

Millions of letters would be needed. That's the problem with the Pro-ENT side. Whatever strategy you choose to use, be that e-mail, snailmail, protests, petitions, boycotts, carrier pigeon, an SAS-style siege of UPN's HQ etc.....your side just lack the numbers of people to make any significant impact.

[Odie 0]

We don't know many letters have been sent to UPN. Yet...

[HRH The KING 0]

Well, you would need around six to eight million as a minimum IMO.

[Odie 0]

I don't UPN gets that many viewers on all there programs together. After all overall their ratings are down.

[HRH The KING 0]

The problem is this: If you had millions and millions of letters written, then ENT would have healthy viewing figures. But why wouldn't those people be watching the show? Aside from the vague speculation about viewers not being counted, ENT's ratings are very poor. The expected "Oh now that the show's been cancelled, the ratings will pick up" theory hasn't materialised. This idea that even people who don't like and/or don't watch the show should support the Save ENT campaign is equally pointless. Since those people wouldn't be watching the show anyway, so the ratings would remain low.

Edited February 13, 2005 by The King

[Odie 0]

The really problem is that Nielsen Ratings had changed how they collect their data. There are programs on UPN rating drop a lot. Some of them almost 10 points. Also the rating don't take in account by people who video tape or use Divo.

[HRH The KING 0]

No, the problem was always a lack of quality.

 

A lot of people may tape certain programmes, but you would have to believe that millions and millions of people are taping it as opposed to watching it when it's broadcast.

 

If the timeslot was poor, it's probably because Paramount themselves realised the show was weak and not worth the effort to flog a dead or dying horse. It was actually very close to cancellation last season.

Edited February 13, 2005 by The King

[mj 7]

True, but with mj's experience they seem to have gone into some sort of database of emails they have received in the past. What you said is also why we are encouraging people to write instead of email.

303055[/snapback]

 

 

That is right. We have to change tactics.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

 

 

Nielsen Botches Digital Cable Ratings, Will Reissue Data For Most Of The Season

 

by Joe Mandese, Monday, Feb 14, 2005 7:00 AM EST

NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH LATE FRIDAY sent a notice to clients informing them that it has incorrectly reported digital cable TV ratings for most of the 2004-05 television season. The announcement, which was inexplicably sent out after the close of business on Friday, was described by one Nielsen customer as "horrendous."... (continued in spoiler)

 

Click For Spoiler

The SNAFU, which affected Nielsen's so-called MarketBreaks service--a Web-based system used by clients to analyze various TV ratings--mistakenly assigned data for "digital cable with pay" market breaks to "digital cable without pay" market breaks, and vice versa from Nov. 1, 2004 through Feb. 2, 2005.

 

Nielsen said the glitch impacted ratings for both breaks, as well as aggregate ratings for digital cable when they are combined.

 

While Nielsen did not characterize the overall magnitude of the error, it said: "The impact varies greatly in size and direction from program to program and half-hour to half-hour," and advised clients not to use "any digital cable data that they may have run in MarketBreaks for these dates."

 

Also unclear was the potential financial impact of the mistake. The precise magnitude of the impact on ad deals may never be known, says one client, noting that it would depend on "the number and size of the deals that have been made to date with these data."

 

However, the impact for new cable networks could be significant, because the data are integral to the strategic planning and capital decisions of digital cable networks. "In addition to the costs to advertisers and agencies that need to considered, one also needs to ask what will be the cost to investment firms and the other businesses that relied on these data for critical business analyses and judgments," says the irate Nielsen customer.

 

Nielsen said it is currently in the process of re-running viewing data for digital cable, and that it would make corrections of the data in weekly intervals, beginning with the most recent week and "working backward in time."

 

Related story

[Odie 0]

No, the problem was always a lack of quality.

 

A lot of people may tape certain programmes, but you would have to believe that millions and millions of people are taping it as opposed to watching it when it's broadcast.

 

If the timeslot was poor, it's probably because Paramount themselves realised the show was weak and not worth the effort to flog a dead or dying horse. It was actually very close to cancellation last season.

303101[/snapback]

 

Enterprise is on Friday nights in the States. I would have just tape the show and still go out have a good time. Yes, I can see millions of people doing just that. Why waste a good Friday night to watch any show? I did it with all the Star Trek shows, except of course TOS.

 

Wow, how unsurprising that Nielsen incorrectly reported digital cable TV ratings. I hope they will correct the mistake, because too many businesses' decisions are made using their rating system.

Edited February 15, 2005 by Odie

[HRH The KING 0]

Enterprise is on Friday nights in the States. I would have just tape the show and still go out have a good time. Yes, I can see millions of people doing just that. Why waste a good Friday night to watch any show? I did it with all the Star Trek shows, except of course TOS.

 

Well, not everyone likes to go out on Friday nights. It's very unlikely Paramount would choose to place ENT in a timeslot few people will be able to watch. It makes more sense to me that the show was performing badly and they choose to place the show on that timeslot because the low figures indicated that a hardcore group of ENT fans were tuning it and it's possible they would do the same on Fridays. The difference would be slight in the ratings. The show was almost cancelled last season so UPN could have placed it there until the inevitable cancellation order was made.

[Rivendells_king 0]

You think a FEW people go out on friday NIGHTS!!?!?! Maybe its different in the UK. Dear god I can not even drive down to the mall on friday with out getting stuck in a traffic jam. There are numerous sporting activitys on friday that people go and watch. Most people go out for dinner or do stuff with their lovers and spend their earned paycheck. And all these activitys take place around 7 PM the time slot for ENT here.

 

But anyways a really dumb question. Does anybody have the ratings from when it was in its old time slot to the time slot it is in now?

[Odie 0]

If someone with the powers to be want to kill the show they just have to move it to a time slot that would just do that. Friday nights are in general low in ratings in the States. How do you think CBS tried killed Star Trek in the frist place? They placed it on Friday nights. IMO they could have the highest rating in their network and still get cancelled. For one simple reason, the show is not doing well in the market that they are going after. That is the African Americans I believe.

 

There is another reason why I have problems with the its so-called low ratings. I am overseas. The US military has their network called AFN (Armed Forces Network). They have stated repeately that they only show they highest rated shows from the States. Enterprise is one of them that they televise. Some of the shows can be weeks to months behind that States, but its better than nothing.

[HRH The KING 0]

You think a FEW people go out on friday NIGHTS!!?!?! Maybe its different in the UK.

 

In Leeds, people go out whenever they want. Not necessarily just Friday's.

 

Except maybe Saturday when Match Of The Day is on. :blink:

 

If someone with the powers to be want to kill the show they just have to move it to a time slot that would just do that. Friday nights are in general low in ratings in the States.

 

The powers that be didn't try to kill the show, they ended it before it did too much damage to the prized franchise property.

[Ace 0]

But anyways a really dumb question. Does anybody have the ratings from when it was in its old time slot to the time slot it is in now?

303462[/snapback]

 

 

I used to regularly check Zap2it's ratings to see just how ENT did each night. If I remember correctly, they usually scored in the 2.3 range on Wednesdays, but dipped to around the 2.0 to 2.1 range when Smallville moved into a competing time slot. After the move to Fridays, the scores seemed to hover anywhere from 1.5 to 1.9.

 

I think.

 

I could be confusing some of these numbers with summer reruns which, of course, would be lower. Either way, ENT hasn't been in the 3.0 range for years.

 

 

I also agree with Odie. I usually hang out with friends on Friday nights instead of watching tv. However, I still make sure to tape the show or have someone tape it for me.

 

The powers that be didn't try to kill the show, they ended it before it did too much damage to the prized franchise property.

 

That's entirely subjective. None of us can know their motives with absolute certainty without a direct statement from tptb themselves.

[HRH The KING 0]

That's entirely subjective. None of us can know their motives with absolute certainty without a direct statement from tptb themselves.

 

I seriously doubt you're going to get a statement from Paramount saying "We killed ENT".

 

If only a relatively small audience is watching a show which costs a large amount of money to produce, then it's not worth keeping it in production.

Edited February 15, 2005 by The King

[Jack_Bauer 1]

 

 

Nielsen Botches Digital Cable Ratings, Will Reissue Data For Most Of The Season

 

by Joe Mandese, Monday, Feb 14, 2005 7:00 AM EST

NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH LATE FRIDAY sent a notice to clients informing them that it has incorrectly reported digital cable TV ratings for most of the 2004-05 television season. The announcement, which was inexplicably sent out after the close of business on Friday, was described by one Nielsen customer as "horrendous."... (continued in spoiler)

 

Click For Spoiler

The SNAFU, which affected Nielsen's so-called MarketBreaks service--a Web-based system used by clients to analyze various TV ratings--mistakenly assigned data for "digital cable with pay" market breaks to "digital cable without pay" market breaks, and vice versa from Nov. 1, 2004 through Feb. 2, 2005.

 

Nielsen said the glitch impacted ratings for both breaks, as well as aggregate ratings for digital cable when they are combined.

 

While Nielsen did not characterize the overall magnitude of the error, it said: "The impact varies greatly in size and direction from program to program and half-hour to half-hour," and advised clients not to use "any digital cable data that they may have run in MarketBreaks for these dates."

 

Also unclear was the potential financial impact of the mistake. The precise magnitude of the impact on ad deals may never be known, says one client, noting that it would depend on "the number and size of the deals that have been made to date with these data."

 

However, the impact for new cable networks could be significant, because the data are integral to the strategic planning and capital decisions of digital cable networks. "In addition to the costs to advertisers and agencies that need to considered, one also needs to ask what will be the cost to investment firms and the other businesses that relied on these data for critical business analyses and judgments," says the irate Nielsen customer.

 

Nielsen said it is currently in the process of re-running viewing data for digital cable, and that it would make corrections of the data in weekly intervals, beginning with the most recent week and "working backward in time."

 

Related story

303348[/snapback]

Now this is interesting...

I have a hard time finding the ratings for Enterprise on CityTV. Though I recall at one point (i have no idea exactly when) Enterprise ranked 8th among the 18-49 male age category and it wasn't the premiere (I'm almost positive on that).

[Takara_Soong 4]

 

Nielsen Botches Digital Cable Ratings, Will Reissue Data For Most Of The Season

 

by Joe Mandese, Monday, Feb 14, 2005 7:00 AM EST

NIELSEN MEDIA RESEARCH LATE FRIDAY sent a notice to clients informing them that it has incorrectly reported digital cable TV ratings for most of the 2004-05 television season. The announcement, which was inexplicably sent out after the close of business on Friday, was described by one Nielsen customer as "horrendous."... (continued in spoiler)

 

Click For Spoiler

The SNAFU, which affected Nielsen's so-called MarketBreaks service--a Web-based system used by clients to analyze various TV ratings--mistakenly assigned data for "digital cable with pay" market breaks to "digital cable without pay" market breaks, and vice versa from Nov. 1, 2004 through Feb. 2, 2005.

 

Nielsen said the glitch impacted ratings for both breaks, as well as aggregate ratings for digital cable when they are combined.

 

While Nielsen did not characterize the overall magnitude of the error, it said: "The impact varies greatly in size and direction from program to program and half-hour to half-hour," and advised clients not to use "any digital cable data that they may have run in MarketBreaks for these dates."

 

Also unclear was the potential financial impact of the mistake. The precise magnitude of the impact on ad deals may never be known, says one client, noting that it would depend on "the number and size of the deals that have been made to date with these data."

 

However, the impact for new cable networks could be significant, because the data are integral to the strategic planning and capital decisions of digital cable networks. "In addition to the costs to advertisers and agencies that need to considered, one also needs to ask what will be the cost to investment firms and the other businesses that relied on these data for critical business analyses and judgments," says the irate Nielsen customer.

 

Nielsen said it is currently in the process of re-running viewing data for digital cable, and that it would make corrections of the data in weekly intervals, beginning with the most recent week and "working backward in time."

 

Related story

303348[/snapback]

 

I'm afraid this may not help us as it apparently isn't the ratings themselves that were screwed up but other information. I found this at broadcastingcable.com:

 

Due to what Nielsen Media Research is describing as human error, the ratings company inadvertently gave out some wrong information on digital-cable viewers for one of its qualitative reports to advertiser clients.

 

The so-called MarketBreaks reports for two demos, which were incorrect from November to January, provide lifestyle information, including income, education, car ownership, cable and satellite viewership, etc.

 

The MarketBreaks are a supplement to the daily ratings, which Nielsen says were not affected.

 

"The impact varies greatly in size and direction from program to program and half-hour to half-hour," Nielsen told clients.  "[You] should not use any Digital Cable data that they may have run in MarketBreaks for these dates [Nov. 1, 2004-Feb.2, 2005]."

 

Nielsen spokeswoman Karen Gyimesi said Nielsen would get a schedule for releasing the corrected numbers to clients by the middle of next week.

 

Critics of Nielsen grabbed onto the news to suggest some systemic failure at the ratings company, but Gyimesi called it a mistake that the company was apologizing for and taking the necessary steps to avoid a repeat.

[mj 7]

I'm afraid this may not help us as it apparently isn't the ratings themselves that were screwed up but other information.

 

That's unfortunate.

[HRH The KING 0]

Tim Brazael posted the same thing on his site, but didn't actually pay attention to the fact that it only related to cable for a short time. It didn't affect UPN or ENT or viewing figures per se.

 

On his two sites, they've already started in-fighting. Anyone who criticises little Timmy or questions the need or use for donating money to their cause to buy a season of ENT, or questions this conspiracy theory over the Nielsen ratings is promptly accused of "flaming" or "trolling" and is banned.

Edited February 19, 2005 by The King