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Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings launch with ABC's Scandal in the top spot this week
Nielsen announced late last year that it would create a rating system to track how much engagement TV shows are getting on Twitter, and now the list is available. The system tracks the number of tweets about a particular TV episode (sports events are excluded) and the number of people posting about it, as well as the number of times those tweets were seen and by how many accounts. Nielsen reports that sometimes the amount of action on Twitter aligns closely with viewer ratings -- the Breaking Bad finale topped the week of September 23rd on Twitter -- but shows like CBS sitcoms top traditional ratings without causing much conversation. This week, ABC's Scandal topped the list as Miley Cyrus accounted for the next two spots with her MTV special and Saturday Night Live episode. All of this comes at a crucial time for Twitter as it nears its IPO and seeks a path to profitability, which may be fueled by its use as a companion for TV watching. Whether or not this helps broadcasters focus on the best of TV programming remains to be seen, or if our screens will be so full of hashtags there won't be anything left to watch.
