Ratings Analysis

This 4th edition of Ratings Analysis describes and explains the current audience information system that supports economic exchange in both traditional and evolving electronic media markets. Responding to the major changes in electronic media distribution and audience research in recent years, Ratings Analysis provides a thoroughly updated presentation of the ratings industry and analysis processes. It serves as a practical guide for conducting audience research, offering readers the tools for becoming informed and discriminating consumers of audience information. This updated edition covers: International markets, reflecting the growth in audience research businesses with the expansion of advertising into new markets such as China. Emerging technologies, reflecting the ever increasing ways to deliver advertising electronically and through new channels (social media, Hulu) Illustrates applications of audience research in advertising, programming, financial analysis, and social policy; Describes audience research data and summarizes the history of audience measurement, the research methods most often used, and the kinds of ratings research products currently available; and Discusses the analysis of audience data by offering a framework within which to understand mass media audiences and by focusing specifically to the analysis of ratings data. Appropriate for all readers needing an in-depth understanding of audience research, including those working in advertising, electronic media, and related industries, Ratings Analysis also has much to offer academics and policy makers as well as students of mass media.

Ratings Analysis: The Theory and Practice of Audience Research provides a thorough and up-to-date presentation of the ratings industry and analysis processes. It serves as a practical guide for conducting audience research, offering readers the to

When one hears or reads the term "ratings," one often thinks of television or radio programs competing for an audience. However, the picture is much larger than that. People working in advertising and the electronic media are well aware of the significance of ratings data. Students considering careers in media such as broadcasting and journalism are compelled to study the process and results of audience ratings. However, in Ratings Analysis: Theory and Practice, Webster and Lichty exemplify the many ways in which ratings can be vital to other vocations, such as social scientists interested in mass communication and media policymakers. The book not only covers the many applications of ratings data, but also delves into the means by which the data are collected, and finally, how the data should be analyzed. The authors have made an effort to keep the language understandable for a large range of potential readers.

This second edition of Ratings Analysis provides a practical guide for conducting audience research, offering readers the tools to become savvy, discriminating consumers of the audience information that floods the electronic media --from broadcasting, to cable, to the World Wide Web. Reflecting a highly practical orientation, Ratings Analysis focuses on the types of data media professionals encounter in their day-to-day work. Readers are introduced to the various applications of audience research in advertising, programming, financial analysis, and social policy. The text also covers the growth of the audience measurement business, and how audience ratings information currently is created and packaged, concluding with a discussion of how media audiences take shape and the analytical techniques commonly used to study them. Key features of the second edition include: * An overview of the major types of audience research, * Current examples of the most common audience research reports, * A complete glossary of audience research terms, and * A listing of the major suppliers of syndicated audience research. Appropriate for advanced courses in audience research, media research, and programming, this second edition provides a thorough and up-to-date presentation of the ratings industry and the analysis process.