More People Watching TV?

More people are watching television in local markets than were previously measured, according to information released today from Nielsen Media Research.

According to measurements of electronic Local People Meters (LPMs), which are being introduced in ten major markets by 2006, all four recently installed local people meter markets showed increases in the number of people watching television in May 2005 over May 2004. LPMs, which provide demographic information overnight, are replacing a paper diary system that Nielsen had been using in sample homes for years to measure local TV viewing in these markets.

In order, the markets with the largest increases in viewers were:

San Francisco – 18.6%
New York – 9.1%
Chicago – 1.4%
Los Angeles – 0.5%

Among all viewers, the demographic group that showed the largest increase in the percentage of viewers from May 2004 to May 2005 was Men 18-49%. (See Table 1 for more detail) According to Nielsen, the market-by-market increase in this category was:

San Francisco – 31.3%
Chicago – 16.3%
New York – 12.7%
Los Angeles – 7.5%

Local People Meters are able to detect a larger number of viewers with greater precision because they electronically record the viewing of all household members on a continuous basis.

Nielsen also reported that viewers are watching a larger number of channels than was previously recorded in diaries. According to May 2005 LPM data, viewers watched up to two-thirds more channels than they did in May 2004. In order, the markets with the largest increases were:

San Francisco – 67%
New York – 28%
Los Angeles – 24%
Chicago – 19%

To view more charts CLICK above on ‘More Images’.