收视率

• Pinyin: shōu shì lǜ
• Hanzi breakdown: 收 = 丩 + 攴 (to receive, take in); 视 = 示 + 见 (to look at, to watch — showing and seeing together); 率 = a character meaning ratio or rate

Meaning

Viewership ratings; audience ratings. The percentage of the target audience watching a specific television programme at a given time.

The primary metric for measuring television programme performance in China. High 收视率 directly influences advertising revenue and determines whether a series gets renewed or cancelled. Widely used in media industry discussions, entertainment journalism, and marketing analysis. Contrast: 点击率 (click-through rate — for online content); 收听率 (listener ratings — for radio). In the streaming era, 播放量 (total plays) and 热度 (heat index) have partially displaced traditional 收视率 as popularity metrics for online dramas.

Examples

1. 年度收视率报告显示，黄金时段情感剧收视率创近三年新高，而财经新闻持续下滑。 The annual ratings report shows that prime-time emotional dramas reached a new high in the past three years, while financial news continued to decline.
2. 为了冲击首周高收视率，制作方在多城地铁和户外大屏投放广告，还请了多位明星站台。 To push for high ratings in the first week, the producers ran ads on metro lines and outdoor screens in many cities and invited several stars to promote the show.
3. 收视率长期争议不断，广告主已转向更细分的数据和互动指标。 Ratings have long been controversial, and advertisers have shifted to more segmented data and interaction metrics.

Usage Guide

Context: media, television, advertising, entertainment, business

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 如今单靠收视率已难显节目商业价值，广告主更看重受众结构和互动数据。(Nowadays, ratings alone can no longer show a programme's commercial value, and advertisers value audience composition and interaction data more.)
• 监管要求卫视播出期间不得实时公布收视率榜单，以免诱发买假数据等恶性竞争。(Regulators require satellite channels not to publish ratings rankings in real time during broadcasts, to avoid triggering vicious competition such as buying fake data.)

Don't Say

• 收视率 when referring to online streaming metrics — use 播放量 (total plays/views) or 热度 (heat/trending index) for streaming platforms; 收视率 specifically refers to traditional broadcast television audience measurement and is not applicable to online video platforms

Origin & History

收 (to receive) + 视 (to view, to watch — 示 to show + 见 to see) + 率 (rate, ratio)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal