"Nielsen moves to track gay TV viewer habits in US
Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network
Friday 24 September, 2004 10:40

For the first time, the television viewing habits of the gay community in the USA may officially be counted. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Nielsen Media Research, the television ratings company, are teaming up to work on monitoring the gay community's viewing habits.

When searching for families to track what they watch on TV, commonly known as Nielsen Households, Nielsen tries to include a representational demographic of the viewing area. Families that become Nielsen Households are asked about their age, income, education, gender and ethnicity. What the survey does not ask is a person's sexual orientation.

If a particular advertiser wanted to sell its products to the gay community, it would have to rely on strictly anecdotal evidence to find a particular programme that may appeal to a gay audience.

"Information is power, and with this information the LGBT community, a community that has been largely defined by stereotype or misinformation, will benefit," Stephen Macias, GLAAD's entertainment media director, said: "Until you define what the gay market is you can't programme to it, and you can't solicit the support of advertisers for programs that appeal to a gay audience."

GLAAD and Nielsen have held a series of meetings on both coasts to discuss different ways of counting gay and lesbian viewership in Nielsen's ratings research.

"The short answer is, we don't know how we'll keep track of this community," said Jack Loftus with Nielsen Media Research. "But the long answer is GLAAD will help us figure out a way to accurately do that."

The two said they would continue working on a process to include gay people in Nielsen households.

Richard Kravits of the TV Gay Guide said the pairing of GLAAD and Nielsen is an interesting combination.

"Having LGBT demographics for your show is considered good for marketing because we supposedly have disposable income; and that's what advertisers are after - people who will spend money," Kravits said. "It'll be interesting to see once advertisers find out that the LGBT community is watching if the shows then get higher-end advertising, say for luxury cars as opposed to Pampers and toothpaste. It will also be interesting to see if shows add any more gay characters."

GLAAD's Macias said Nielsen's inclusiveness of gay households is an important step. It could make the portrayal of gay people on television more accurate and inclusive.

"We're an important market, and yet we don't have the same representation and benefits as everyone else," he said. "This is an important way to show that LGBT family viewing habits really do count."

Interesting don't you think?

Rob

It's about damn time.

Yeah, but wait until they find out we're watching the same crap as everyone else. wink

Last week, GL Census (a nationwide gay and lesbian consumer census group) e-mailed me since I took part in their census earlier this year and asked if I would be interested in taking part in the AC Nielsen ratings survey targeting the gay community. I accepted and started tracking my TV viewing on Thursday (it is week-long study). So, if my viewing habits are reflective of the gay community, we watch a lot of the WB, reality TV, football, and CNN. I log in each morning and report everything I watch, how long I watch, and where I watch during the previous day. My final report is Thursday morning.

They will find out the WB appeals to the 18-24 crowd, and gay men.

THey would find out a skip around A LOT. I watch 5 minutes of one show and then flip to something else.

A show is not counted as being watched unless you watch at least 15 minutes of it. The daily timetables are done in 15-minute increments.

They are also going to figure out that I love watching snake shows on Animal Planet and The Discovery Channel...so, look for more of those in the future, too.