I could just kick myself

[spoon full of sugar]

Just got a call from the nielsen ratings people, they wanted to monitor our TV watching. I have to admit it creeps me out in a small way to think I'm being "monitored" if you know what I mean. So I told the lady I have to ask my husband (knowing that mister grump would say no) and he did say no, the lady asks why and he says why should we? I just say no thanks and hang up. Than dh asks what do they give you and I tell him $100. to start and some other benifits and he's says we should have done it , to late now, thats what he gets for his knee jerk old grumpy man reaction. Know I'm thinking though, we should have done it, just to show them that all of America doesn't watch garbage like suvivor and desperate housewives, to late now, thats what I get for my knee jerk paranoid libertarian reaction .

 

[Free4Life11]

Oh no! I'd love to do that so that I can help boost the ratings of the shows I like.

 

[goodeats]

Those are hard to get. My grandma was a Nielsen family, and I helped her fill out her card tos end in. She was probably the only one to have 10 hours of Murder She Wrote reruns and Wheel of Fortune all week!

 

[patmor]

Those are hard to get. My grandma was a Nielsen family, and I helped her fill out her card tos end in. She was probably the only one to have 10 hours of Murder She Wrote reruns and Wheel of Fortune all week!

Too funny!

 

[NancyIL]

We were asked to be a Nielsen family for a week (or was it two?) - which we did, and there was no $100...more like $5!

 

[got2travel]

Its $100 when you start, $50 every six months, then another $100 at the end of 2 years.

We are in our 7th month. I was pretty weirded out too at first. But it's been ok. They even gave my son a new tv because his was too old for them to hook up their equipment to.

 

[wendyl]

WOW--i want to be a Nielsen family. Is there a way to sign up??

 

[mum of two pirates]

Gee do you think they would hook us up with cable and then pay the bill? I am a mom who will not have t.v. in the house. My dh still wants it after 14 years you would think he would stop asking for it. lol

 

[8 Ears]

For us it was $200.00 to start/ We were told it goes according to ages?!?! When he came he brought me soem candle stuff, the day they came to hook us up they bought us 2 family size pizzas. There were I think 7 of them here, LOL we have a "few" TV's. OK, we have 5 TV's and 5 DVD and or VHS players $200.00 every 6 months and another $200.00 at the end of 2 years. Every 6 months, about the same time the checks come in we also get a "gift flyer" that the boys can pick 1 thing from for free. Yup, no shipping or handling either.

If any of your electronics that they are hooked up to they will pay 1/2 to replace it.....

Oh they are such nice folks! Our "technician" is just like an old friend. He calls or has to come over periodically to check this or that and one of their boxes "blew". He asks how the boys are doing in school, one had surgery and asks if he is feeling better.... we ask him about his children, they are about the same age as ours. His son one this or that, they went here or there. Once I was on the phone making reservations for something and when I got off he was talking to us about how his family went there and had such a good time.

To some it may be odd but we are enjoying it.

Oh, the "technician" does not know what you watch, it only goes through home office.

Sorry to run on and on, we have always been pleased with them. When we have trouble and the lights have gone out, wires got loose once; he was here in a day or two.

We are happy to do it as well to "show not every family watches junk TV" Yes, we watch PBS, TLC, History....

OK, that's it, sorry to ramble......

 

[3DisneyKids]

Here is the info from Nielsen:

How many "Nielsen families" are there?

There are 5,000 households in the national People Meter sample, approximately 20,000 households in the local metered market samples, approximately 1,000 metered homes for our national and local Hispanic measurement, and nearly 1.6 million diaries are edited each year.

So the DIS poster who was paid $5 was oe fo the 20,000 household who fill out the little paper charts...the big money goes to the families that have the equipment installed.

How do I become a "Nielsen family"?

Nielsen Media Research cannot accept volunteers for its ratings service. To be statistically accurate it is essential that our sample be the result of random selection. Every household in the United States has an equal chance of being selected, no matter where it is located. And, the random nature of the sample ensures that people of all backgrounds and all ages can be included. If Nielsen Media Research accepted volunteers, the composition of the sample might be affected. Our clients – broadcast and cable television networks, local television stations and cable systems, program producers and advertisers – use the information we provide to help make decisions about which programs will be on the air. Our customers would not be able to rely on the information to make appropriate decisions.

Since we do pick our sample on a random basis, you do have a chance to become a Nielsen Media Research household. However, it can only happen from our contacting you.

Hope this answers your questions.

 

[kelleigh1]

We're ACNielson Homescan panelists. Same company, but different "monitoring". For us it's not tv, it's shopping. I was actually invited to participate years ago and agreed, but was warned but even if I was interested, I might not be selected. They invite a large number of people and then select a certain number from those who accept. It took about a year before I was actually selected to participate. Now we scan all of our purchases...from grocery stores, to clothing stores, internet purchases...basically everything. (That reminds me...I need to scan my UnOfficial WDW Guide since it just arrived today.)

Every time I transmit, we earn points. They also send surveys and have surveys on their website where I earn points. We also earn points for reaching various levels...like at our anniversary of being a homescan member, for my birthday, etc. The points add up quickly and I can "purchase" some really great prizes. They also have monthly, quarterly and annual drawings - although I haven't won anything yet. I'm in my second year of being a panelist. It's fun...but sometimes, I forget to scan stuff...or I scan it 2 days after I shopped.

I do love earning points and getting stuff for free though.

 

[poohfriend]

maybe it varies by market, ages. WE get $12 ($6/tv) every 6months. ANd it was $25 per tv/vcr they hooked up. We try to limit our tv watching so we simply do not have a lot of tvs. the news and kids shows probably gets most of our "points."

And I don't think it's that great...every year they come in for over an hour to do testing and I find it's just not worth the hassle. And there's no money for that. I get paid $24 a year ...no pizzA NO candles, no book of prizes. Are we sure we're talking about the same company?? When they installed our tv they scratched up our entertainment center...when i complained they said that's what the $25 was for! (THis is not a nice entertainment center, it's painted lumber, but still...) And our TV picture is not as good as it was before...it's fine, but it's just not as crisp, they adjusted it onece and it's better, but not as good.

at first i liked being a part of things, but now I'll just be glad when our term is up. I think they said 5 years was the max!

By the way, I'm not supposed to share that I'm a nielson family, but since this board is bascially an anonymous place, I don't mind. Just don't ask me to turn on your favorite tv show!

SO I SAY to the original poster...don't kick yourself! Sure the extra $$ would have been nice, but so is privacy!! It's not just a one-time in the door and they pay you; so if you've got a busy schedule, you might have had difficulty working in the visits each year. And if you move your tv, add another, or simply buy a new one, well there's another hassle. I'm not saying it's such a hassle that I'd never do it again...but not for the two tvs we have. I'd have to have like 6 tvs and 6 vcrs ($144 yr)!

 

[8 Ears]

First of all, we do not watch a lot of TV either. We have the main one in the living room, one each in our bedroom and the boys have one in each of their rooms. the one in the play room is only for games and movies; it is not hooked up to cable. In the living room we have a DVD/VCR player. In one boys room he has a TV/DVD player, ohter son just has a VCR, our room has a VCR and the play room has a VCR.

I would say, if you are having difficulty call your technician. We were having trouble with one channel and one channel only on just the main TV. Fuzzy, wavy. We called and he came over promptly and tightened a wire and it has been fine since.

You are correct, we are not to discuss that we are part of "the family" with people we do not know. For the most part you all are just a screen name to me.

I am sorry to hear that not all experences have been as positive as ours

Right now I am wrapping a DVD player for a B-day gift for the son who does not have one. I called our tech and he said he would hook it up for us(we know how but did not want to mess anything of his up) He said "oh no problem, just let me know when you want me to come up" I have made an appointment time that is convient for me and we are looking forward to comparing how his children's beginning of the school year has gone thus far.

 

[jlcbshaw]

Okay, not to start a debate, but I personally wonder how true this statement can be after reading about the experiences of those who have posted here.

My main reason is that if they have to come to your house and hook all of this hardware up and then maintain it, then it stands to reason that "most" of the families would be in a centralized location, like maybe the larger cities or subburbs. I can see where they will have a few dispersed throughout other parts of the US, but I that would mean that the techs would have to travel to maintain the systems. Maybe farfetched, but I can't see them pulling a name in some small town (like mine) that is several hundred miles from a city with a population over 100,000 and then maintaining it. Just an opinion. Of course if they ever called on us, the Disney Channel would probably be #1.

 

[spoon full of sugar]

8 ears; wow! 5 tv's and you don't watch that much? We have one with a dvd and vcr and xbox attached. That's it. I would never allow my son to have a tv in his room, since he is an only I don't think it's healthy for him to spend alot of time alone in his room, especially as he gets older, teenage boy locked in room with only tv influence = Columbine. I think alot of people let their kids have tv's because they don't think they should be watching what the adults are, my view on that is maybe the adults shouldn't be watching that trash either. Oh well just my opinion.

 

[8 Ears]

See, this is why I rather just read than post here. I was subscribed to another thread about how much TV one watches and what.

I can assure that my boys are not "Columbine" type of kids. I know this because they do not have doors and are not shut in there! I do not watch TV all day or really the week. I enjoy Big Brother or Survivor, the History Channel, TLC and oh yes I try to see Clean Sweep. Boys are only allowed to watch TV AFTER homework is done. And yes, I check so I know it is complete. They are not allowed to watch it on school mornings. So basically it is M-F from 7 until 8:30 or 9. Younger one until 8:30, older until 9. We do not live in the big city so they are outside on the weekends, games, swimming, or just outside with friends.

The play room is for games, do not even recall the last time a movie was wathced out there. AND before you tell me how bad it is for them to play games all day let me tell you that they have 3 games on a Sega Gen. Yup, the really old one. They have them in their rooms as they have got them for X-mas. The one that has a DVD player bought it with his only $#%& money after we got back from Disney with what was left over. So do not say they are brats. The "main" is usually watched by their Dad who is their biological father when he gets home from work at night. Currently he works from 7 or 8'ish in the morning until 9:30 at night 6 days a week. Now, if you would like to discuss with him how much TV he watches I will have him tell you that he watches it from about 10 to 11 at night to unwind.

Now, just becuase we have that many does mean we are watching it ALL the time or shmuck shows. It means we work very hard and happen to have a little $$ to give our kids things they will take with them when they leave for college or when they get their first apartment.

You may think that we see things that they should not, well you are wrong! We do not watch those shows.

It amazes me how since we are just screen names here how people bash others they do not know the circumstances about. Implying is a very strong thing.

Guess I done defending myself to you, look back and you will find another thread about people purchasing TV's for their children particulary at Christmas and you will find more of my views.

For now, you have a good day spoon full of sugar 8 Ears

 

[NancyIL]

Here is the info from Nielsen:

How many "Nielsen families" are there?

There are 5,000 households in the national People Meter sample, approximately 20,000 households in the local metered market samples, approximately 1,000 metered homes for our national and local Hispanic measurement, and nearly 1.6 million diaries are edited each year.

So the DIS poster who was paid $5 was oe fo the 20,000 household who fill out the little paper charts...the big money goes to the families that have the equipment installed.

That's exactly what I did...filled in a paper chart - one per TV - for a week. I rarely watch TV, so it wasn't easy for me to keep track of what the rest of the family watched.

 

[spoon full of sugar]

8 ears sorry that I upset you. If you read my post I said I wouldn't let my son do those things because he is an ONLY child. I think it is, no I know TV and other forms of entertainment are much more influencing on children who don't have siblings. Your children have each other, all of whom have been taught their values by you and your husband, so that those values are actually reinforced by their own siblings. My ds has only his friends, who's families don't necessarily do things the way we do, we have very little family in the area and none with children.While I may not think having tvs in their rooms are the greatest thing in the world, I'm not saying it creates mental problems . But it has been suggested in many studies that excessive tv watching by children esspecially those with social problems can lead to aggresive behavior. I geuss this actually wouldn't be a problem for my ds either since he has never meet a person( or cat,dog,snake,bug,etc.) that he didn't like. It is really amazing that your children watch so little tv given such easy access, my ds would be glued to it. As for being materialistically(is that a word?) spoiled, my ds got a lap top for his 9th birthday, to run the lego mindstorm robot brain that we spent hundreds of dollars on.And the extra accesory kits you need to make the robot spider legs instead of the tank tracks and regular wheels it came with.Because the other robots he already had could only take basic voice commands, you can't program new stuff in them mom!!! So my ds isn't a brat,(though possibly a future mad scientist) but he is very spoiled, and I would never say that someone elses child was over indulged, that would surely be the pot calling the kettle black. But I would rather have dental surgery than watch reality tv,and I wish I had done the nielson thing so I could cancel out your vote ! Oh well. I do like the history channel .