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In the Convention Ratings Race, We Already Have a Winner

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Still, Nielsen has only household data for the conventions in those years because, a Nielsen rep told The TV Column, "at the time, it was decided to only report HH [household] ratings."

Likewise, we should note Nielsen does not include PBS's election coverage except for two bright shining years -- '92 and '96. PBS numbers were omitted from more recent convention stats, for '00 and '04, the Nielsen rep explained, because "their programming is not available on a next-day basis. Only time-period information was available and we do not apply program names to time-period data."

(On the bright side, Nielsen began including convention audience numbers for cable news networks Fox News Channel and MSNBC in 2000. It began including CNN's numbers in convention tallies in '92.)

So then why was PBS included in '92 and '96? Because, the rep explained, "time-period information was used" for those two years, after which "we decided to change the methodology."

But why doesn't Nielsen go back into its data for '00 and '04, now that it surely must have available the PBS program-name information it needs to update its numbers on those convention audience levels?

"PBS chooses what programs they want to have us rate," the Nielsen rep responded. "If they do not order it, we do not rate them."

Welcome to my hell.

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