National People Meter Expansion Continues.

Nielsen Media Research has completed one phase of its plan to double the size of its National People Meter (NPM) sample with the addition of 2000 households. This phase of the sample expansion was achieved by integrating 24 separate replicates over the course of two years. These new sample households are from outside of the Local People Meter (LPM) markets. The sample expansion plan to bring the NPM sample from 5,000 to 10,000 households was announced in 2003. It began in June of that year and this first phase was completed, on schedule, this fall.

Sara Erichson, General Manager of National Services, announced the completion of this important phase of sample quality improvement, noting, “This is truly a vital achievement in our goal to provide clients with a robust National sample. As technology continues to fragment audiences and change the way viewers watch television, it is essential that we keep pace. Doubling the sample is one of the ways we are doing that. The expanded sample will provide a strong foundation for the innovations we will introduce in 2006, beginning with time-shifted viewing data.”

The remaining part of the sample expansion plan will be complete once all 10 of the Local People Meter markets are fully operational and integrated into the National People Meter sample, using weighting methods to compensate for regional impacts. To date, seven of these 10 markets have been integrated. In 2006, when the full complement of 10 LPM markets has been integrated, we will have completed the full sample expansion. This will effectively double the national sample from its 5,000 household size of two years ago. With the first phase complete, the effective sample size now stands at 9,160.

Why Expand the Sample?

The larger a sample is, the more projectable it is to the universe it represents. An equivalent sample of 10,000 provides several key benefits. Sampling error will be reduced by approximately 28 percent. As audiences continue to fragment, larger samples tend to produce more stable data. Larger samples also enable clients to evaluate more targeted demographic and geographic breaks. By the time the 10th LPM market, Atlanta, is switched over to People Meters in 2006, there will be nearly 13,000 homes contributing to our National People Meter Sample, with an effective sample, after weighting, of nearly 10,000 households.