So if as they say their is 5200 boxes in Sydney in the same houses week after week, then the figures will never change unless you change the location of the said 5200 boxes.
Or am i completely missing something here ?

Thats correct to a point. If 100% of boxes were switched over night then the ratings for TV shows will change radically for some of the shows. But the thing about the A League is the audience is so low its hard to inflate the figures without deliberately seeking out A League fans

I think I calculated a while ago that if the average household has 5 viewers, then each person represents a rating of 1000. If the figure is inflated using simple maths (multiply by 1000) instead of complicated demographics (this person represents an elderly male, and there are more, so there is a higher weight) then it literally means 85 people were recorded as watching the A League, compared to 55 people or 35 people for other games. Meaningless

For shows that rate 400k or 500k there is more meaning in the data but for outlier shows like the A League the ratings data just doesnt translate well

Think Family Fued. The top 3 or 4 answers are actually representative of popular opinion. If 25 people answer a question the same way, you can assume 25% of the population feel the same way. But its hard to say that the answer that 1 or 2 people gave is representative of 1% or 2% of the population. Its an outlier

IMO changing the ratings boxes overnight would see A League ratings fluctuate between 35k and 85k, but not 85k to 350k

It's also important to note that households are recruited via telephone surveys. That means that the data used for ratings numbers is exclusively people that when they receive a phone call and asked "do you have time for a survey" they respond with "yes". That alone gives you a pretty good idea of the type of people that are being recruited.

It's a pointless debate.
System has been used for some 60 years and they use accepted statistcal sampling techniques.
Yeh, I think it's true that a little bit of bias creeps in, e.g. if your a household that doesn't watch TV, or only watches SBS, for example, you're unlikely to get a box.
Anyway, the only thing that really matters is that the TV stations and advertisers rely on the data.

Its not whether the statistical sampling techniques are valid. its whether they are applicable. Nobody is doubting the science behind the Maths, but whether it works for this situation

As I said, ask me "Pepsi vs Coke" and thats 2 variables. Ask me "Dominos vs Pizza Hut" and thats 2 variables. Ask me both questions and you are asking "Of those who drank Coke, which pizza do they prefer, and of those who drank Pepsi which pizza do they prefer". 4 variables. You can't short cut random sampling by asking the same people over and over again. it is a violation of the limitations of the statistical sampling method

If Bob watches the channel 10 news, has a jog for an hour, then watches the Simpsons (or whatever). You can't assume 1000 people watched the channel 10 news, had a jog for an hour, and then watched the Simpsons

And thats just the basic reason it doesnt work. Other reasons include whether or not its an accurate / true representation of the population. When you are talking about something as complexity as human choice, you can't assume this can be projected across the population. And its not just choice, but in the example of jogging, absence of choice. The complexity as to why the sample is not watching TV at that point in time is significantly greater than the reason why they are

Using this kind of Maths for TV ratings is better than using Trigonometry, but not by much. It is still flawed and a misuse. Its not the best method, its the only method

The thing is in this day and age, using 60 year old technology is pointless. We have the technology (for PayTV and Internet at least) to record with pinpoint accuracy what every household or connection is watching. The only issue is privacy because any indication somebody's habits are being tracked will result in loss of trust for the service

I'm going to add to my post above because I may have over simplified what I meant with my example:

If the News is on and the Simpsons, somebody might watch the News. If the Socceroos is on the may watch the Socceroos. But if there is an evolving tragedy they may watch the News. But if its an episode where they kill off Homer they may watch the Simpsons

What you have with TV viewership is weighted choice. Have a look at platforms that use choice algorithm where you watch Bambi and suddenly the next video loading is two guys in the outback giving each other handjobs to survive. Choice algorithm is so complex that even the best brains behind it havent anywhere near mastered it. One of the most frustrating things about Netflix is it lacks the basic ability to see titles listed alphabetically by category like every other good library. And even if you try searching for a title you get fake search results so you dont know whether they have it, or if its just buried under the 50 fake search results

Imagine if FTA used choice algorithm where you couldn't choose what you wanted to watch, and you were plugged in to the habits of one of these sample boxes

Even major platforms dont use statistical probability sampling to determine how many stars you rated a show, or to work out what you are currently watching. It may have worked 60 years ago when there were 3 choices but even with FTA's limited simultaneous options there are already too many variables

:D:D:D

Bang on both these posts.....
It NO MATTER what medium if its LIVE sport people tune in (well those that want to) and right now it shows not too many out there care to tune into ALM......forgetting they need to build up, its all new, give paramount the chance.
Being a Fox subscriber since its beginning it didn't have much opposition back then and Football was for all to see, EPL etcetc and AL gained alot of passer by support.
I got Optus Sport because they had the WC rights, I had to get it, (suffered glithcs initially might i add) bonus was they got the EPL so it was a no brainer for me and to date.
I had to watch the WC live......thats the point, people are not tuning in to ALM, whats it delivering on the pitch ?
Not much, past supporters tuned off how can one expect new ones to tune in.

Postponements will remedy the issue, just ask FA/APL. Marbles have surpassed A League.

I'm not 100% but I think I was picked out via some survey I did on the net, honestly can't remember what it was for. Had a phone call a while down the track.

Just some ramblings:
For what it's worth, after having the ratings box I basically now just disregard all tv ratings. The box is old tech, has to be on all the time, listens to the audio, etc. I got rid of it after a very short time, which was a shame as I was looking forward to boosting the numbers for SBS and other things I like.

I remember pointing out that 99% of my viewing was via streaming on Apple TV/iPad/Laptop/Computer/TV's webOS apps and was told that I'd need to open up my whole network to allow them to capture everything - which I thought was absolutely ridiculous in the late 2010's (when this took place).

With the split FTA game anything under 120k will be a concern and anything below 100k RIP

Going to be tough, up against a D/N Ashes. Next two weeks will be up against AO. Tricky little period. But there’s always something. Clear air argument is nonsense. 

Aren't Aleague fans soccer fans? Do they prefer cricket or tennis to soccer? How confusing.

No they are FOOTBALL fans. Fuck off with the SOCCER shite, i seriously detest that word.

Before all you Aussies pile in , they tried to use this word in the 70's in the UK due to hooliganism, but it failed miserably.

Irrelevant what the game is called in old Blighty my easily offended Caledonian friend. We are unique here in Australia mate...... just ask the marketing genius behind the designation of "old soccer" vs "new football" ...... Only 11 x franchises in Australia are allowed to call themselves "football" The other 700+ are lumped in with the wogs and "soccer".
Like that immortal SBS jingle from my youth "Soccer is the real football" :)

It is not irrelevant if the that is where the game was founded.

OK, go have a chat to the FA and let them know your opinion. Maybe they will listen to you and agree to let all Australian clubs participate in this wonderful "football" you speak of :)

Why aren't NPL clubs and the like allowed to use the word football?
Since when?
I can list tonnes of amateur league teams here that use the word football in their names.
You're not talking shit again are you?
If that's true in Melbourne it's coz of VFL not anything else.
PS I sing that jingle in my head all the time randomly

I really think that you need to get yer hole more often.

It means we might as well bite the bullet and switch to winter. Sure it means going up against AFL/NRL, but in summer there's always Ashes, tennis, BBL, AFLW, etc., etc., etc. Just put on the best possible product and have faith that fans will be attracted to it.

"We" can call ourselves football clubs until we are blue in the face, its the federation that doesn't recognise us which is the problem:
https://thefootballsack.com.au/2019/10/ethnic-old-soccer-clubs-australian-football-before-the-a-league.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CNew%20Football%2C%20Old%20Soccer%E2%80%9D,on%20everything%20that%20preceded%20it.

Can you explain this in Australian English mate, sorry don't know what you mean?

hmmm, based on this should the SOCCERoos be renamed the Footballeroos?

What federation doesn't recognise you? Why can't you call yourself a football club?
I could only skim that article at work but it seemed pretty irrelevant?

I mean, I'm pretty sure I do get the point you're trying to make but you're still talking shit aha

Its the point Im ALWAYS trying to make mate.... If you are comfortable with the ethical bankruptcy of what Lowy and his goons did to people of non-anglo backgrounds in this country thats your prerogative, but the time of everyone pretending this didn't happen and just continuing to whitewash history is over.... Just like sexual identity and skin colour, ethnicity is a right that a progressive and tolerant society should accept..... If people choose to knowingly champion an apartheid system in Australia I know what side of the argument they belong too......

This is definitely football as far as I understand it...Go the Swans!!

20/11: 146K (Sydney derby)
27/11: 88K
4/12: 85K (metro)
11/12: 89K (metro)
18/12: 63K (metro)
26/12: 57K (Melbourne derby)
8/1: 84K (metro)
15/1: 56K (Adelaide v City?, metro)

Not sure if that 15/1 match counts the other match as it was geographically split.

Sure thing, you hungover today?
You claimed you couldn't use the word "football" as the federation doesn't recognise you if/when you do.
I just asked what the hell you were talking about as that's bullshit aha

Hahahaha I am a little to be honest..... :)
Of course we CAN and DO call ourselves football clubs, the FA and APL dont recognize us as such though ..... Old man Lowy told them we were "old soccer" and not to be trusted or ever allowed to mix with the franchises. There is a reason the word "soccer" was used in this context or do you not agree?

Only speak proper English, you know, the international one.

I f you don't know what "getting your hole " is, then i really do feel for you.