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Boston Herald

By JESSE NOYES

Alexandra Oats, a 20-year-old student at Boston University, is addicted to the ABC television program "Lost" and CBS reality show "Survivor." And on Sundays she gathers with fellow students to watch the animated comedy "Family Guy."

Elisa Radice, 20, a senior at Emerson College, enjoys meeting with friends to watch Fox's popular primetime soap opera "The OC." She says some students even play a drinking game around the drama "24," appropriately called the "Jack Bauer Hour" - as in the lead character played by Kiefer Sutherland. Whenever Bauer does something "exciting," they take a drink.

Until now, the TV consumption of undergraduates like Oats and Radice was largely ignored in TV ratings. But beginning early next year Nielsen Media Research, the major provider of national television ratings, will sample the viewing habits of college students living away from home in dorms, fraternities, sororities and in off-campus housing, the company said yesterday.

The move marks the first time Nielsen measured TV ratings outside of the home.

The revamped rating system could be a ratings boon for TV networks and shows that attract young audiences. With college students watching an average of 24.3 hours of television a week in the last academic year, Nielsen estimates overall ratings for adults between 18- and 24-years old could jump by as much as 12 percent.

"Our clients have been asking us to do this for a while," said Nielsen spokeswoman Laura James. "The broadcasters and the cable networks . . . are eager to reach young adults."

Networks such as Fox, ABC, MTV, Comedy Central and ESPN might have the most to gain from the reconfigured ratings system. All of them carry content popular with collegiate crowds.

But the news is especially good for the newly formed CW Television Network, said P.J. Bednarski, executive editor at TV trade publication Broadcasting & Cable. CW is the result of a merger of the UPN and WB networks that launches in September and will run a number of shows skewing toward younger viewers.

GRAPHIC: Does this count as media studies?

Next year, Nielsen Media Research will sample the viewing habits of college students, who watch an average of 24.3 hours of TV per week.

STAFF GRAPHIC BY JEFF WALSH