'Glee' and 'Sons of Anarchy' Have Most Involved Viewers

According to a new study released today by ListenLogic, a social media intelligence firm, 'Glee' and 'Sons of Anarchy' top list of shows with most involved viewers, while 'The Mentalist' and 'The Good Wife' come up short. By measuring social media conversations, ListenLogic's new television rating system, the Involved Viewer Ratings™, adds viewer engagement levels to traditional TV ratings and provides a more robust measurement of audience involvement.
"Social and mobile connectivity have completely changed the way viewers engage with TV shows," said Mark Langsfeld, Founder & CEO of ListenLogic. "Viewers are expressing their passions for TV programming like never before, while they're watching the show. We're using these unsolicited conversations to tap into a deeper level of viewer involvement and augment traditional TV ratings."

With over 70 million smartphone users in the US and nearly 80% of US online consumers regularly engaging in social media, many viewers are interacting with TV programming concurrently as they watch. Recent research shows that 86% of smartphone users are accessing their device while watching television shows. It is expected that this social TV trend will continue as companies such as Motorola and Google launch enhanced TV companion services with social networking capabilities.
According to the Involved Viewer Ratings, shows with the highest level of involvement were 'Glee', 'Sons of Anarchy', and 'Hoarders' while 'The Mentalist', 'The Good Wife', and 'No Ordinary Family' ranked at the very bottom of the list. In comparison, audience ratings over the same period ranked 'Mentalist' and 'Good Wife' at the top of the list while 'Glee' and 'Sons' landed middle of the pack.
"We're seeing a big difference between TV viewer involvement and traditional audience ratings," said Vince Schiavone, co-founder & Chairman. "Shows that have high audience ratings don't necessary correlate to high viewer involvement. This disconnect directly impacts media buying as clients are already negotiating with our IVR data and are looking to buy opportunistic, undervalued shows with high viewer involvement."
The Involved Viewer Ratings index is based on an analysis of 12 million unsolicited social conversations for 75 prime-time shows during Q4 2010 and Q1 2011 where users mentioned their viewing experiences during the program and up to 24 hours after the airing of each show. Conversations in the Q4 and Q1 study ranged from watching the show live, referencing commercial content, critiquing content, suggesting future direction, and sharing anticipation for next episode.


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