Nielsen Adds Four Counties to Metro Calculations

Source: Arkansas Business.com there’s more to report this week from the February Nielsen Media Research Inc. television ratings book, including a change in the way the numbers are recorded.

Last week, we told you about KATV-TV, Channel 7, catching KTHV-TV, Channel 11, in the 10 p.m. time slot and also winning both the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts as well.
We’ll start this week by telling you about a change in the way Nielsen Media is now recording the metro numbers for the central Arkansas market, which may or may not have affected the outcome of the February book, depending on who you ask.

Nielsen Media added four new counties to the area that it calls the Little Rock metro area. The metro used to include only Saline, Pulaski, Lonoke, Faulkner and Jefferson counties, but Nielsen has now started counting Perry, Grant, Cleveland and Lincoln counties as well. Of the four new counties, three are to the south of Pulaski County, which has traditionally garnered strong viewership for KATV and which also probably didn’t hurt that station’s success in the February book.

According to Nielsen Media, the change was based on how the U.S. Government defines the Little Rock metro area, which includes the additional four counties.
In breaking down the numbers, KTHV General Manager Larry Audas said the change more than likely affected how February’s book turned out.

“We’re talking about the addition of four counties when there were only five to begin with,” he said. “Naturally that’s going to show up on the charts somewhere. It just so happens that those southern counties were ones where we could be doing better at attracting more viewership.”