REPORT: SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES DON’T AFFECT TV RATINGS

Social media websites like Twitter and Facebook don’t have a significant impact on TV ratings, according to a panel of television marketing executives who participated in the Digital Hollywood conference in New York last week. As reported by PC World magazine, the participants agreed that a lot of buzz on the social media sites don’t necessarily translate into higher ratings, and at times network executives may misread that buzz, especially in the case of low-rated shows that receive a lot of attention. Veteran trade-magazine reporter Michael Learmonth, now digital editor of Advertising Age magazine, noted that after a storm of protest over the cancellation of Jericho in 2008, CBS brought the show back for seven episodes — but it failed again to garner significant ratings. “That was a case of [CBS programmers] listening a little too hard to a rabid minority,” Learmonth said.