Consumer Sovereignty

• Describe the operation of their "National People Meter Service." How many households are used for this survey?
• Does this survey enhance or reduce consumer sovereignty over the choice of TV programming provided to the public?
• Why is demographic information on viewers of interest to advertisers?
• Does the availability of this demographic information enhance or reduce consumer sovereignty in the markets for the products advertised by sponsors?

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Solutions:
 

• The "National People Meter Service" provides information on how many people are watching specific shows and the demographic composition of the audience. There are more than 5000 households participating in this survey.
• This sort of information will allow the operators of broadcast and cable stations to select programming appealing to large blocks of the population.It is expected that this will enhance consumer sovereignty.
• Demographic information on viewers allows sponsors to select shows with viewers that match the demographic profile of their products.
• Answers on this will vary. This demographic information will result in ads for products that are purchased by "typical" viewers. To the extent that these ads provide information to the public, consumer sovereignty is enhanced. If these ads convince consumers (in the short run, at least) to buy products that do not satisfy their needs, then consumer sovereignty may be reduced.