Refers to a time during the months of November, March, and May, when both Nielson and Arbitron survey all local market broadcast media for the purpose of rating the stations and their programming
The monthlong periods, usually in February, May, July and November, when Nielsen Media Research measures audiences in all television markets These periods are important to local stations because they provide comparative ratings across the nation and important to networks because they provide an indepth view of their audience Advertising sales for the upcoming programming season are heavily affected by the outcome of the sweeps