The print and electronic resources below offer current data on selected Nielsen Ratings and other market data. [Note: no library on this campus has direct access to full Nielsen TV Ratings. Partial rankings may be found in a few other sources. Neither is access to Arbitron available.]

Nielsen//NetRatings, is different from Nielsen TV Ratings. NetRatings offers selected “free data” at this URL: http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/ [Note: One must be a Nielsen client in order to obtain full TV ratings data.] Click on the hot link “Press Room” for access. Description from Nielsen/lNetRatings web site:

Web Sites

• http://www.digitaledge.org/

• http://www.news.com/Researcher+sees+huge+growth+in+podcast+audience/2100-1025_3-5777201.html

• http://www.podcastingnews.com/2007/03/22/podcasting-audience-up-18-since-last-year/

• http://www.world-newspapers.com/internet-news.html

• http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=282

• http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/04/06/blog_usage_statistics_and_
  trends.html

• http://www.ebusinessnews.info/?action=read&article=212

• http://www.naa.org/sitecore/content/Global/PressCenter/2006/NEWSPAPER-WEB-SITES-EXPAND-REACH-OF-TOTAL-NEWSPAPER-AUDIENCE.aspx?lg=naaorg

Print Sources & Online Databases

Note also that the print sources mentioned below are available in our Park Library’s serials shelves. The electronic versions of several of these sources are available full-text in on Davis Library’s electronic indexes and databases http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/ Consult with Park Librarian for specific databases offering the most appropriate information. 

            1. Broadcasting & Cable         Check table of contents for the page number for the “Nielsen Ratings.” Note that the data is for the current week only. Includes data for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PAX, UPN, WB listed hour-by-hour rating. These weekly Nielsen TV ratings can be searched online in InfoTrac http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid ; make certain to use the key word search using Nielsen Ratings and then enter Broadcasting & Cable in the box for journal selection.  Also included in the print journal listings are:

• top 10 basic cable shows (by date, network, HHS)

• broadcast networks (by network and total households with breakout for adults in the 18 – 49 age group)

• top 10 broadcast shows (ranked by show, network, and number of weeks as well as for adults in the 18 – 49 age group)

•  Syndication Watch (also in Broadcasting & Cable) lists top 25 shows for adults aged 18 – 34 and the top talk shows for adults aged 18 – 34

2. USA Today offers every Wednesday in the LifeLine section the current week’s Nielsen TV Ratings for the top 20 shows, evening news and prime-time programs. This data from USA Today appears not to be in its online database.

3. MediaWeek offers every week a “market profile” of a different one of the DMAs. These market profiles can be searched online in InfoTrac http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid; make certain to use the key word search using market profile and (name of DMA wanted) and then enter MediaWeek in the box for journal selection.  [Note: MediaWeek seems to have dropped its "market profiles" after December 2005.] These profiles offer data on:

• Ad spending by media in the market profiled

• Scarborough Profiles of market profiled to the top 50 average by demographics, media usage (average audiences), media usage (CUME audiences), Internet usage during past 30 days, and home technology.

• Audit Bureau of Circulation of newspapers in market profiled

• Arbitron’s radio listenership and radio station ownership in market profiled

•  Nielsen TV Ratings (evening news and late news) for market profiled.

• Magazine Monitor  (data offered according to titles of monthly magazines, weekly magazines, and biweeklies.) Data includes circulation, rate base, and current number of pages with comparisons to previous year.

4. BrandWeek offers every week “Culture Trends.” These “Culture Trends” can be searched online via InfoTrac http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid using for the key work search culture trends and entering BrandWeek in the box for journal selection. This data includes for each week:

• Nielsen TV ratings for top 10 TV shows

• Nielsen//NetRatings (top 10 hardware & software advertisers)

• Nielsen ad spending (Jan. – June ad spending for a particular sector, e.g., soft drinks)

• Hollywood Reporter’s Box Office of top 5 movie gross receipts

• Teen People’s “Trendspotter”  

• Billboard’s top-selling albums

Again, remember that no library on this campus has print or digital access to the full data collected by the ACNielsen Marketing Information Company. This data is proprietary and is not available to anyone who is not a client of ACNielsen.

5. AdAge Magazine 300 Ad Age's annual ranking of the top 300 magazines in the U.S. by total gross revenue. http://www.adage.com/page.cms?pageId=602

6. AdAge Data Center http://www.adage.com/datacenter.cms Includes data on Leading National Advertisers, 100 Leading Media Companies, Ten Hot Media Markets and more.

7. Audit Bureau of Circulation. Audit reports from magazines and newspapers for recent three years. This database is available only through Park Librarian. Call to make an appointment.  

8. MRI+ 
http://www.mriplus.com  Another source of media data is MRI+, which provides proprietary readership and other data for magazines. MRI+ is available only on the computers in The Park Computer Lab. Request guidance from Park Librarian in order to search this source.

9. CHOICES III (Simmons Media Market Research) [Note: See also Mintel Reports]
This software program with 2003 data is loaded on computers in the Park Library's computer lab. Contact Park Librarian for a demonstration on how to select the data needed and generate reports.

10. MINTEL Reports http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid Click on "M" and scroll to Mintel Reports. Click on link and follow the screen directions. First-time users will need to register with email address and create a password. Read instructions carefully about how to search this database. [Description: Mintel is a leading provider of competitive media, product, and consumer intelligence. The company produces market research reports for Europe, the UK, and the US. Reports cover a variety of sectors including consumer goods, travel and tourism, financial industry, internet industry, retail, and food and drink. Reports discuss market drivers, market size and trends, market segmentation, supply structure, advertising and promotion, retail distribution, consumer characteristics, and market forecasts. Mintel Reports can be viewed or downloaded. Reports are exportable in .rtf or .zip format. Reports are customizable - mark the boxes next to the sections you want to include.]

11. Zap2it  http://www.zap2it.com Launched in May 2000, Zap2it.com is the result of a merger between two popular web destinations -- UltimateTV and MovieQuest.UltimateTV debuted in 1995 providing television information online. From Daily TV News, Nielsen ratings and the UltimateTV Showlist, to local listings and star chats, UltimateTV was the home base for TV fans on the Net. In January of 1999, UltimateTV was acquired by Tribune Media Services (TMS), an important supplier of TV and Movie information in America. This site also offers weekly ratings on top 20 sports programs. 

12. Center for Media Research 
http://www.centerformediaresearch.com  This site requires registration but otherwise offers selected data free. Included is a 2003 guide of media planners's spending trends. There are also research briefs current and archived. CMR's Research Library offers links to sites around the net with specific useful research information for media planning and buying such as Media Matrix.

13. Media Audit Reports (newspapers & magazines)
Audit Bureau of Circulations [Note: password protected. Consult with Park Librarian.]

14. TABLEBASE http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/eid/ Click on "T" and scroll to TableBase. Reports are full text. Read carefully the instructions for search. [Description: International in scope, although approximately 66% of the records focus on North America, TableBase provides summary statistics about companies, industries, products, markets, and consumer behavior, including rankings, forecasts, market shares, and product sales. It includes summarized statistical tables from hundreds of business periodicals as well as statistical yearbooks, market research reports, trade association publications, and investment analyst reports. Subjects covered include: company and brand rankings, demographics, imports and exports, industry and product forecasts, market share, number of users/outlets, productions and consumption statistics, trends, and usage and capacity.]

Barbara Semonche, Park Library Director
September 2007