• Adventure
  • Auto
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Home & Garden
  • Money
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Video
  • Shows
  • Blogs
  • Quizzes
  • Games
  • Random Article
  • Computer
  • Electronics
  • Home / 
  • Tech / 
  • Electronics / 
  • Home Audio & Video / 
  • Television / 
  • TV Industry / 
  • TV Broadcasting

MORE STUFF LIKE THIS:

TV Evolution Pictures
TV Evolution Pictures
10 Longest-running TV Shows
10 Longest-running TV Shows
How Television Works
  • Page
  • 1
    How do TV ratings work and how do they figure out how many people are watching a show?
  • 2
    Lots More Information

    • Lots More Information

    Related HowStuffWorks Articles

    • How Writing a TV Show Works
    • How Television Works
    • 10 Longest-running TV Shows
    • How TV Production­ Works
    • Who puts together a television network schedule?

    More Great Links

    • Television Reviews and Shopping Guide
    • Why There's No Channel 1 on a TV
    • Early Television Foundation - history of TV, with pictures
    Print
    Cite This!
    Close 
    Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article:

    "How do television ratings work? How do they figure out how many people are watching a show?"  28 July 2000.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question433.htm>  25 May 2012.
    Cite
    Feedback
  • Page
  • 1
    How do TV ratings work and how do they figure out how many people are watching a show?
  • 2
    Lots More Information

    • Popular Tech Topics

    The Ultimate Computer History Quiz
    The Ultimate Computer History Quiz
    Top 5 Myths About the Internet
    Top 5 Myths About the Internet
    How to Connect Your Computer to Your TV
    How to Connect Your Computer to Your TV
    How Capacitors Work
    How Capacitors Work
    How Cloud Computing Works
    How Cloud Computing Works
    Take a look at Computer Videos

    You Might Also Like

    How TV Production Works

    Jackpot! A network has bought the TV show script we've been following. Now it needs producers, directors, writers, actors and a production crew ... and to actually make it into the fall lineup.

    9 Famous TV Flops

    TV heaven is littered with the carcasses of shows that looked great on the drawing board but flopped miserably on the small screen. Check out this list of some memorable flops and decide how many episodes you might have watched before tuning out.

    Popular Articles

    • How Unsolved History Works
    • How Reality TV Works
    • Inside The Amazing Race
    • MOST WATCHED
    • MOST READ

    • MOST WATCHED

      • Want to win a free Apple iPad? Upload your best pics!
      • Ultimate Computer Hardware
      • How It's Made
      • Cell Phone Tricks
      • Stuff to Blow Your Kid's Mind

    • MOST READ

      • How to Detect if Someone's Stealing Your WiFi
      • How to See Who Views Your Facebook Profile
      • 10 Myths About Video Games
      • Top 10 iPhone Apps for Your Car
      • How Stun Guns Work

    Don't Miss

    The Worst Time Travel Movie Ever
    The Worst Time Travel Movie Ever
    The most mind-blowing pic wins an iPad!
    The most mind-blowing pic wins an iPad!
    Stuff They Don't Want You to Know
    Stuff They Don't Want You to Know

    CHECK OUT OUR PODCASTS

    STUFF NATION NEWSLETTER THE HOW BEHIND TODAY'S NEWS
    HOWSTUFFWORKS
    • Adventure
    • Auto
    • Culture
    • Entertainment
    • Health
    • Home & Garden
    • Lifestyle
    • Money
    • Science
    • Tech
    MORE STUFF
    • Blogs
    • Games
    • HSW Tools
    • RSS
    • Maps
    • Podcasts
    • Quizzes
    • Newsletters
    • Video
    OUR WEBSITES
    • Animal Planet
    • Consumer Guide Auto
    • Consumer Guide Products
    • Discovery Channel
    • Discovery Fit & Health
    • HSW Brazil
    • HSW China HowStuffWorks China
    • Investigation Discovery
    • Oprah Winfrey Network
    • Planet Green
    • Science Channel
    • TLC
    • Discovery Education
    • Store
    CUSTOMER SERVICE
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Help
    CORPORATE
    • About Us
    • Careers @ Discovery
    • Privacy Policy
    • Visitor Agreement
    TAKE US WITH YOU
    FOLLOW US
    © 1998-2012 HowStuffWorks, Inc