By John Altenbern, President – CJ&N, Inc.
It’s a debate with renewed life in every market: What’s the point of traditional “sweeps months” four times a year when electronic ratings measurement is constant?
With the advent of electronic ratings every 30 days throughout the year in every market, the obvious answer would seem to be that the old “February-May-July-November” cycle has become an instant dinosaur. But that’s not quite true.
The fact is that the broadcast industry – and its customers – aren’t quite as agile as we sometimes think. Networks and syndicators still reward stations with co-op money in certain months. Programming premieres still often fall in or near traditional sweeps periods, although that’s slowly changing. And ask your sales manager about the agency buyers who are stuck in a paradigm that falls back on May or November ratings. The world is indeed changing, but it’s not like shutting off a faucet.
While viewers’ lifestyles and programming choices have always driven ratings,broadcasters are now better positioned to see that relationship than ever before. For example, when school starts and viewing habits snap into routine after summer vacations, morning news ratings often rise. Sports seasons drive spikes in live audiences – not just for professional and college football, but for NCAA basketball season, some golf tournaments and special events like the Olympics and Super Bowl. (Your promos are more likely to be seen.) The best original network programming often hits during traditional sweeps months. Weather impacts DVR use and streaming.
All of those things, and others, impact when viewers will most frequently watch local television – and perhaps your station. Don’t you still want to influence them to watch your newscast to drive higher numbers at certain times?
Here’s a question you may have a hard time answering: In which months of the year does your ratings performance matter most? Which quarters are most important to sales, and for which kinds of advertisers? If auto dealerships are trying to drive new model year sales, what are the ratings they will rely on? What about back-to-school or holiday advertisers – what numbers are important to them? It’s no longer a simple answer. Neither is your ratings strategy.
Before you get too far down the road in deciding that your main anchor can take a two-week vacation next May, take a hard look at how your station is actually using ratings. Sweeps periods are indeed changing, but we’re playing chess now, not checkers. You may have data 12 months a year, but do you have a ratings strategy to go with it?
