Statistical techniques play a vital role in helping advertis

Statistical techniques play a vital role in helping advertisers determine how many viewers watch the shows they sponsor. Although several companies sample television viewers to determine what shows they watch, the best known is the A. C. Nielsen firm. The Nielsen ratings are based on a random sample of approximately 5,000 of the 115 million households in the United States with at least one television (in 2010). A meter attached to the televisions in the selected households keeps track of when the televisions are turned on and what channels they are tuned to. The data are sent to Nielsen’s computers every night from which the company computes the ratings and sponsors can determine the number of viewers and the potential value of any commercials. The results from Sunday, February 14, 2010, for the time slot 9:00 to 9:30 p.m. have been recorded using the following codes:

Network

Show

Code

ABC

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

1

CBS

Undercover Boss

2

Fox

Family Guy

3

NBC

Vancouver Winter Olympics

4

Television turned off or watched some other channel

NBC would like to use the data to estimate how many of the households were tuned to its coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

5

Solution