Meaning & use
rating point
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A unit that measures how many households watched a particular TV program, used to compare audience sizes.
Grammar: Countable: one point, two points — often used in the plural after a number, as in 'won 12 rating points'.
Patterns
- a show gets X rating points
- gains/loses rating points
- a X-point rating
The finale drew 18 rating points, the highest of the season.
The network lost three rating points after moving the show to a later slot.
Advertisers pay more for a program with strong rating points among young viewers.
nouncountable
A score on a scale that shows how good or popular someone or something is.
Grammar: Countable and usually used in the plural when talking about a score total.
Patterns
- a rating point for something
- score rating points
- a high/low rating point
Each correct answer is worth two rating points on the judges' sheet.
The restaurant lost rating points after the review appeared online.
Word forms
| plural | rating points |
|---|
Common combinations
- draw rating points
- The debate drew more rating points than any other program that night.
- lose rating points
- The channel lost rating points when the star left the series.
- a rating point among a group
- The show's rating points among teenagers were surprisingly low.
- the highest rating point
- That episode still holds the highest rating point in the show's history.
- rating points slip/fall
- Rating points slipped steadily through the summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- share
- In TV measurement, 'share' is the percentage of households watching that are actually turned on, while a rating point is measured against all households with a TV.
- score
- 'Score' is the general word for any number of points in a game or test; 'rating point' is specific to audience measurement or rating scales.
Word family
- rating noun
- The score or level itself, or the system that produces it.
- rate verb
- To judge how good or popular something is.
Commonly confused: rating point or point rating?
rating point vs point rating
'Point rating' is not the usual term; the standard phrase in broadcasting is 'rating point'.
Practice
The season finale ___ 20 rating points, the best result in years.
Choose one answer.
'Drew' is the natural verb for attracting an audience measured in rating points. 'Made' and 'did' are too general here, and 'took' would suggest removing points rather than gaining them.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rating point”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.