Why Networks Make Almost No Money From Digital Ads

Three out of every four Chevy ads you’re seeing while catching up on the latest episode of The Flash aren’t making The CW any money, which is pretty awful. (Especially since that’s an expensive show.) Also, what does “unsafe” mean in this context? The results are teetering off the edge of a cliff? A lot of it boils down to how limited Nielsen ratings have always been, and how that doesn’t really reflect the world of digital viewing at all. Especially now that the services themselves are capable of faking their ratings. Call me naïve, but I’d never considered that Hulu and other ad-based streaming services might be racking up their own views dishonestly, the same way that some people have swindled video numbers on YouTube. If it’s so bad that entire swaths of ad-views are being tossed out without further inspection, changes need to start happening. - Nick Venable,Cinema Blend [via/web:http://streaming-tv.us]