Is Twitter psychic? Social media analytics and television ratings

This study demonstrates the use of social media analytics in the context of network television (TV) programs. We first downloaded social media measures for 38 TV programs and their performance ratings over a period of five weeks resulting in a sample size of 165 weekly observations. Specifically we extracted the number of Twitter tweets, followers, followings, Facebook likes, and talk from the official Twitter and Facebook profiles of each TV program. Subsequently we applied OLS Regression techniques and determined that key social media measures positively affect ratings. In essence TV shows with a higher number of Twitter tweets, followers and Facebook talk are likely to associate with higher performance ratings. This study helps TV networks in realizing the pertinence of social media in garnering viewership. Consequently we also propose a social media analytics framework for businesses in identifying brands with higher social media buzz in the objective of improving future economic performance.

1 Introduction

Social media are prevalent in today's computer-mediated communication (CMC). Yet scholars are inconclusive in understanding the relationship between social media activities of brands with their corresponding economic outcomes [1]. The present study investigated how social media activities surrounding U.S. television (TV) network programs relate to their performance ratings. Specifically we asked the question: how does audience engagement in social media directly correlate with the TV program's performance? Anecdotally there seem to be a positive parallel. For example, we examined two TV shows: Franklin & Bash and The Walking Dead. Franklin & Bash was doing poorly in ratings at the time of our study and ended its first season with a. 25 average rating. The Walking Dead, however, did well and was ultimately renewed for another season (ending with 8.65 average rating). Twitter paints a very similar picture: Franklin & Bash has, on its official Twitter account, a total of 1,829 tweets and an abysmal 23,164 followers while The Walking Dead has 65,071 tweets with a whopping 3,094,523 followers—an enormous amount of social media buzz. While this anecdotal example confirmed our suspicion, a more rigorous test was called for. We thus put forward the following questions in relation to ratings and social media: How does the performance of a TV program relate to or be reliant on posts from the official account itself? Does engaging with audience help garner more attention subsequently increasing number of viewers and ratings?