I Want My Non-Nielsen TV

Everything you know about what's hot on television may be wrong. Wisconsin-based start-up Networked Insights released a study this week challenging the Nielsen Company's ratings system by measuring what's being talked about online. "When it's a show that has more interesting content, they're getting more engagement," says CEO Daniel Neely. For the study, Networked Insights examined 17,000 sites and 3.5 million "interactions." These include people posting videos clips or photos about a show, discussion board comments and inviting friends to join online fan groups. In the fourth week of September, Nielsen rated the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men as the fifth most popular show on TV with some 6.9 million viewers. Online, Networked Insights says it was number one, with over 65 million interactions.