Subject: What shows do you watch? How many sent letters to ABC? ...
From: ramos@aludra.usc.edu (Luis Ramos)
Date: 1991-02-27, 18:57
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks

Someone posted earlier the shows he/she watches on TV. I was
surprised (or not really surprised) to learn that I too watched the 
very same shows regularly and I know that some of these shows are in
trouble too. This leads me to a survey of an idea. I am curious to know 
what shows (aside from Twin Peaks) you Peakers watch regularly. Lets see 
how our tastes differ from the "controversial" Nielsens Ratings. 
I am also curious to know how many people in this group sent letters to
ABC? 

Does anyone know if the Nielsens break down their ratings according to 
demographics (i.e. income, profession, location, age, etc.)? Is their 
sampling stratified? Do networks even care about demographics when making 
decisions? More importantly, do the Nielsens take into account the viewer's 
potential buying power (not necessarily the same as income)? In other words, 
if show x has more viewers than show y but the aggregate viewership of 
show y spends more money than that of show x, shouldn't show y have a better 
ranking from the point of view of sponsors?

In this survey, I will not delve into your spending habits for reasons of 
privacy and I will keep things simple. Please email me your answers to the 
following questions. I will take in resposes for a week (until Wednesday
March 6) and post results thereafter. You are welcome to skip some of the 
questions. (For rn users, I suggest you use the "R" option and edit in your 
answers). Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond to this survey.

1. What shows do you watch *regularly* during prime time (8:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
   on the non-cable networks (i.e. NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, etc)? (Quantum Leap
   and other "hiatusized" shows this season are acceptable answers). Note
   that I will assume you watch TP regularly unless you explicitly specify 
   otherwise.

2. Which one of the following best describes you:
   (a) yuppie/professional (i.e. lawyer, stock broker, company executive, 
       doctor, etc.)
   (b) student (starving or not)
   (c) academe dude (i.e. professor, researcher, PhDs, etc.)
   (d) alien from another place
   (e) others, please specify _________________

3. What best describes the locale that you live in?
   (a) urban place (i.e. major city)
   (b) highly industrial place with lots of factories
   (c) highly agricultural place with lots of crops
   (d) I live in the woods
   (e) other, please specify __________________

3. How many people watch Twin Peaks from your houshold?

4. Do you own or have access to a VCR for taping shows and watching them
   later?

5. If you are watching a show in real-time (i.e. not from a tape) and a
   commercial comes on, which of the following do you usually do: (please 
   pick the best answer)
   (a) browse through other channels
   (b) watch the commercial
   (c) do something else while commercial is being shown (i.e. take a piss, 
       get a snack, do homework, read book/magazine, talk on the phone, play
       with dog, play with date, call friend in West Coast and give away
       spoilers, etc.)
   (d) turn TV off
   (e) immediately go to the store and purchase the product being advertised
   (f) fall asleep
   (g) others, please specify ________________

6. (Skip this question if you don't have a VCR). If you are watching a 
   taped show from a VCR, what do you usually do when a commercial comes
   on: (please give best answer)
   (a) fast-forward the tape
   (b) watch the commercial
   (c) let the commercial play but do something else (i.e. take a piss, 
       get a snack, do homework, read book/magazine, talk on the phone, play
       with dog, play with date, call friend in West Coast and give away
       spoilers, etc.)
   (d) fast-forward through the show and just watch the commercials
   (e) others, please specify ________________

7. (Skip this question if you don't have access to a VCR). If you fast-forward
   through a commercial, do you have recognition of the product being 
   advertised?

8. Did you buy a copy of Laura's Diary?

9. Did you write to ABC regarding the status of TP?

10. Other comments you would like to make?


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