In this episode, the two blogging statisticians Dr. Sascha Feth and Dr. Jochen Fiedler talk with host Esther Packullat and guest participant Nathalie Steil about audience ratings, their significance, and above all: the basics of their mathematical development.
Whether it's Germany's Next Topmodel, Frauentausch, Der Bachelor or TV events like the last World Cup – time and time again we hear that people decide to boycott shows »as a matter of principle« so as not to increase their ratings. But does that actually do any good?
What exactly are ratings? And who determines which programs we watch on the couch in the evening, and how? Are such figures as meaningful as political election results? By what means are they collected? Is TV any different from radio in this respect?
One thing is certain: TV providers earn large sums of money in the form of advertising from viewer ratings – that is, from our statistically measured attention. The so-called thousand-contact price (CPM) is particularly relevant in this context. What this means, that too in the »Streuspanne«. In this episode, find out which statistical paths are taken by media professionals today to measure the public relevance of their contributions.
Our scattershot team is also joined this time by student Nathalie Steil. She is a Felix Klein scholarship holder, studies mathematics, works as a student assistant in our division »Mathematics for Vehicle Engineering« and has helped to do the research for this episode.
As always, if you spot a statistic or number curiosity in the media that you'd like us to discuss and question, feel free to get in touch.
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Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Mathematics ITWM