The summer season has been a main focus for the big broadcasters in recent years, with CBS’ Under the Dome surpassing ratings expectations last year, to NBC’s stretching America’s Got Talent throughout the year, to Fox’s return of Jack Bauer in 24: Live Another Day this summer.

So it’s no surprise that as broadcast nets begin to prioritize programming all year-round and catch up with audiences’ viewing habits as they do so, they also want to change the way they measure them. Both NBC and CBS are announcing changes to their ratings systems this year that will affect how series proceed, both programming- and measurement-wise.

First, NBC will begin measuring a 52-week TV season. That’s a full calendar year that will be taken into account, as opposed to the traditionally accepted September-May broadcast TV season of years past. As the main four broadcasters begin to air original series during those “off months” instead of airing reruns of popular sitcoms, a more well-rounded ratings report is needed - even though those summer months have yet to measure up to their fall premiere counterparts.

According to Ad Age, the big four broadcasters’ standings remain the same for now when taking into account summer ratings, but this could change as they continue programming around more than just the fall-spring season. NBC is currently ranked No. 1 in the 18-49 demographic, even when not including Winter Olympics coverage. When it comes to total viewers, however, CBS takes the lead, averaging just more than 9 million viewers when measuring the September-September season.

Also looking to improve ratings perception, CBS says it’s adding Live+7 ratings to its daily ratings reports starting this fall, starting with its premieres of The Big Bang Theory and new drama Scorpion on Sept. 22. Crediting a “continued industry shift,” the network says Live+7 ratings more accurately reflect their shows’ complete audiences, taking into account changing viewer habits and emerging technologies.

“L7 and C7 are the metrics that more accurately account for how viewers watch our shows and how we get paid for our programming – both in advertising and content licensing,” said CBS CEO Leslie Moonves in a statement The shift, CBS hopes, will also better reflect TV series’ value to advertisers, offering them ratings reports that include a larger section of that show’s audience, as opposed to simply the first broadcast or three days after.

Read more at Ad Age and Deadline.

Brief Take: The changing realm of TV ratings also changes how marketers promote upcoming shows. By going to a year-round TV season, is fall TV premiere season still a priority, or will a year-long process take precedent?

[Image courtesy of NBC, CBS]

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