Problems revealed by audience ratings on tv

In this survey titled ?Problems Revealed by Audience Ratings on TV?, it is aimed to determine; in which economic-politic structure the audience ratings occur in Turkey, by whom, for who and how the audience ratings and rating of television programs are audited, in what manner these ratings affect the program broadcasting dynamics of television channels and to which problems they give rise based on all these. In order to seek answers to the questions mentioned in the survey, three television channels; Kanal D, Atv and Show Tv, and primetime program flows of period 2005-2007 of these channels have been taken as sample and it has been tried to determine the effects of audience ratings on the broadcast streams of these channels by getting use of the rating reports of ABG Nielsen Media Research (AGB Anatolia) which carries out audience ratings in Turkey. This survey, bearing the characteristic of status determining, has been made on ?single scanning? among the general scanning models. The conceptual framework of the survey has been drawn up by scanning the literature relevant to the field and the channels? broadcast streams of period 2005-2007 have been obtained by scanning AGB?s rating reports of the period in question day by day within the scope of the primetime zone.Audience ratings, started to be recorded in year 1989 for the first time by ABG Nielsen Turkey (AGB Anatolia), have occurred on the basis of establishment of totally advertisement-supported private broadcasting channels, together with the commercialization process that came into being in the field of broadcasting with the effect of neo-liberal economy policies that became common throughout the world in 1980s. In the commercial broadcasting economy, which operates within the framework of sales of the obtained audience number to the advertisers by the private television companies, the survival of which is totally dependent on advertisement incomes; it is observed that audience rating system is used as an important profit mechanism and since ratings constitute the most important criterion in arrangement of broadcast streams they cause various problems. Audience ratings cause becoming monotype in broadcasting and imposes an entertainment based program flow. In television channels, where broadcast programs are structured according to only audience ratings, the fact of rating restricts program variety, prevents polyphony and the audience lose their freedom of choice for the sake of economic interests and are condemned to adapt themselves to an entertainment-ruled and monotype broadcasting understanding. Therefore, this survey bears importance as it draws attention to the matter of how problematic a broadcasting environment the ratings on television create and points at a social problem by questioning, with a scientific point of view, the audience rating system being implemented in Turkey.Key Words1.Rating2.Advertisement3.Money4.Standardization5.Entertainment