NBC’s ‘Heroes’ Gets Lift with New Ratings Rule

For its premiere episode of Heroes, NBC is taking advantage of a new Nielsen rule that lets networks combine the ratings of multiple runs of a show - the original airing and any subsequent airings - and report them as one number.

Monday’s episode of Heroes will be repeated Saturday night, and the numbers for both broadcasts will be counted together when Nielsen releases its final numbers for the week, writes Variety. Better yet for NBC, the Saturday repeat will not be counted in NBC’s weekly averages, which means that the network will be able to eliminate what may well be one of its least-watched hours while at the same time boosting the audience average for the show.

NBC is doing this on a one-time basis, according to NBC research head Alan Wurtzel. NBC had a deal with Nissan to serve as the sole sponsor of the season premiere, which made it easy to test the new rule, as Nielsen requires nets to air the same commercial load in each subsequent broadcast in order to qualify for the cume rating.

While this is a one-off, Wurtzel also said that it is likely just a matter of time before cume ratings become the norm.

Rival networks are miffed by the test, with ABC research chief Larry Hyams saying that, while NBC is doing nothing wrong theoretically, they are morally playing with the weekly averages. “You could see where this could lead to abuse,” he says.

Another rival pointed out that the move took place during premiere week and at the last second, which “indicates its more about gamesmanship for premiere week rather than making a definitive change in the way they’re selling the medium.”

Other networks have been irritated with NBC in the past for the way it plays with ratings. During Sunday NFL pre-game coverage, for example, the network doesn’t air commercials in the first half-hour, thus eliminating one of its lowest-rated half-hours of the week.
Shari Anne Brill, director of programming for Carat Americas, says Nielsen’s rule was created at the request of the networks, and that it is something the agencies do not want. One of the problems agencies find with the new rule is that they will have to wait to get the cumulative number from both airings: instead of reporting a rating for the initial telecast of the premiere, Nielsen is witholding the number and waiting until after Saturday’s airing, writes MediaPost.

That means agencies may never get details on the original airing unless NBC decides to share them, making it difficult to compare other Monday night premieres in an apples-to-apples fashion.

The new rule could lead to trouble in other ways, agencies fret. For example, shows that might have been only in the top 25 could land a spot in the top 10 if a network airs it enough times, and with the same commercial load.
Nielsen says the move is an attempt to make prime time ratings work in harmony with those of syndication, which is reported on a cume basis, and cable, which often uses cumulative numbers for additional airings of a single show. The measurement company pointed out that the move would allow stations with a digital multicast channel to report cume audiences, which is an important feature in the digital age.