The Ratings and Shares on Competing TV Stations are Varying and Progressing

The differences between ratings and shares

A very good method of measuring how a certain TV show is doing is by the use of ratings and shares. Many TV networks pay to have these services done in order to enhance their viewing possibilities. There are distinct differences between the ratings of a TV show or network and the shares of a TV show or network. The ratings on a TV show or network are the total percent of all households with TVs, on or off, that are actually tuned into a TV program in the average minute. Where as, the shares on a TV show or network is the percent of households, of those who are using the television, who tune in to a specific program, station, or network at a specific time. In general the rating percentage is usually less than the share percentage. Let's take a closer look at the ratings and shares in two specific TV networks, ABC and FOX. 

How the competing networks of ABC and FOX differ in ratings and shares

Two very well respected and popular competing TV networks in the present time are ABC and FOX. First, ABC and FOX will be compared during a specific time slot of this past Saturday. This past Saturday from 8pm to 11pm there was two college football games being played, one on ABC and one on FOX. On ABC, the Wisconsin vs Nebraska game scored a 1.2 on the ratings scale and a 4 on the shares scale with about 4 million viewers total. Where as on FOX, the Texas vs Oklahoma State game scored a 1.1 on the ratings scale and a 4 on the shares scale as well with about 3.5 million viewers. In this instance the two networks were similar in both categories. However there are more things than just football and there are certainly other days of the week that will give very different results. Take a Wednesday night for example. On Wednesday ABC scored a 2.2 on the ratings scale and a 7 on the shares scale with about 8.7 million viewers. Where as FOX scored a 3.0 on the ratings scale and a 10 on the shares scale with about 9.4 million viewers in total. In this week, FOX had a better overall viewer scale on Wednesday night but ABC had a better viewer scale on Saturday night. Both networks viewer scales fluctuate from week to week and from show to show, but they both are always looking for more viewers, which in turn makes more money. 

The rise of the connected viewer experience

With the rise in people owning cell phones and specifically smart phones many more people have started to engage in the connected viewer experience. The connected viewer experience is using a mobile device to, in someway, connect to the TV show that the viewer is watching. This may entail using your smart phone to vote for a reality show, look up something said on TV, on the internet, to see if it was true or not, visit a website that was mentioned on TV, see what other people are saying online about the show, or posting comments online about the show. The future has not been written yet, but it is safe to say that smart phones will play a significant impact in the future.