Back in the good old days of analog television rating numbers, things were pretty simple.
The Nielsen ratings would come in sometime throughout the morning following the previous evening’s live airing.
Each network would leave a recorded message that anyone with the Nielsen phone number could access.
The Nielsen numbers represented the homes of 40,000 homes and 100,000 viewers that made up the various demographics sorted primarily by age groups.
The system remained in place all the way until the early 2000s, when the advent of these magical instruments known as DVRs and TiVos started to become available to the viewing masses which allowed us to record our favorite shows and watch them at our own leisure.
It was absolute bliss for TV fans who didn’t want to miss out on The Sopranos or needed to check in with the crew on The Wire hustling the streets of Baltimore — but along with…
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