Ratings refer to a system used by television networks, movie studios and other media outlets to measure audience size or popularity. It is an indicator of how many people watched a particular program or film, based on a sample survey conducted by a third party organization such as Nielsen Media Research. The ratings are usually reported in two ways: the number of households that tuned into the show and the percentage of television sets in use that were watching at any given time. Higher ratings mean more people watched the program or film, which can influence advertising rates and determine whether a show will be renewed for another season.