Can You Really Get Paid to Watch TV?

Mediaprobe is an app that literally pays you to watch TV.

I’m not talking about watching ads for a penny a pop. I mean real shows and sports — the stuff you’d actually turn on anyway.

So I signed up. They mailed me a little sensor, and I spent a month testing it out to answer two questions:

1. Would they really pay?
2. Is it worth your time?

Short answer: yes, they really pay — I’ve earned $40 in gift cards so far — but there are a few drawbacks you should know about before you apply(opens in new tab).

In this review, I’ll break down:

• what Mediaprobe actually is
• how the sensor and sessions work
• how much I earned (and the realistic hourly rate)
• the four drawbacks you should know about
• some alternatives worth considering

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What is Mediaprobe?

Mediaprobe — or MPanel, as it’s called in certain countries — is a media research company that pays you to watch TV.

You hold a small wireless sensor that measures your body’s reaction to what you’re watching. Specifically, it tracks your galvanic skin response(opens in new tab): tiny changes in your skin as you react to the content on screen.

It looks like this:

Companies and TV networks then pay Mediaprobe for that data(opens in new tab), because it tells them how audiences actually feel about their content — not just what people say on a survey(opens in new tab) afterward.

Some of their clients include:

• CBS
• Comcast
• A&E
• Lionsgate
• and more

In exchange for our response data, Mediaprobe passes a portion of their income along to viewers like you and me.

It’s a similar idea to what User Interviews(opens in new tab) does for product feedback, except instead of talking to a researcher, your skin does the talking.

Who is Eligible for Mediaprobe?

Mediaprobe is open to adults 18 and over in the US, UK, and Portugal.

Multiple people from the same house can join(opens in new tab). That means you can essentially double-dip if you and your partner watch the same shows.

How Does Mediaprobe Work?

Step 1: Apply and Get Approved

This is where the first drawback comes in. Mediaprobe is application-only.

(If you’re ready to give it a try, click here to apply(opens in new tab).)

There’s a real cost to the company in shipping out the sensors, so they want to make sure their panelists fit the demographics and viewing habits their clients are looking for — and that you’ll actually participate once the hardware shows up.

In my case, I even had to hop on a five-minute call with their team to verify I was game to test this out.

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But for the prospect of getting paid to watch videos(opens in new tab)? Sure, I’m willing to jump through a few hoops.

Step 2: Wait for Session Invitations

Once you’re approved, session invitations start landing in your inbox. Some of the ones I’ve been invited to:

• Fear Factor
• Top Chef
• The Winter Olympics
• Fox and Friends
• A MrBeast YouTube video

Which brings us to drawback number two: you don’t get to pick.

You can’t just turn on the TV and expect to get paid. It has to be one of their assigned programs, at the assigned airtime.

I’ve been getting roughly 5-10 invites a month, but it still took a while to connect with one where I could commit to watching at the scheduled time.

Each invite tells you how long you’re supposed to watch and how much it pays. It’s typically $5 per hour of watch time.

The best I’ve seen was this 1-minute YouTube short that paid $2.50. That works out to $150 an hour … if you could stack those up consistently. 

Step 3: Run the Session

You start the session in the Mediaprobe app, attach the little electrode readers to the tracker, and stick the sensor on your hand. They include straps to help hold it in place.

Then you leave it on for the duration of the show.

Drawback number three: to verify you’re actually watching what you say you are, Mediaprobe asks you to enable your phone’s microphone so the app can hear the audio from the show and sync it with your reaction data.

Now this gave me a little bit of pause, so I reached out to Mediaprobe for clarification.

Per my contact:

Protecting our members’ privacy is one of our top priorities, so we use Audio Content Recognition (ACR) software(opens in new tab). Rather than recording all audio, the system creates a unique mathematical “audio fingerprint” from the sound it detects and compares it against a database containing only the content participants have been asked to watch. This allows us to confirm what content is being viewed without recording your conversations.

While the session is running, your screen shows thumbs up / thumbs down reaction buttons.

So on top of the biometric data the sensor is collecting, you can literally smash that like button when something lands.

For example, one of the sessions I did was a US World Cup match. When they scored, I gave it a healthy dose of “likes.”

Step 4: Submit and Get Paid

When the show ends, make sure to upload your sensor data. Depending on how long the show was, this can take several minutes.

You’ll usually need to answer a few follow-up questions in a short survey. I’ve been asked about which ads I remember seeing, and what I liked or didn’t like about the show.

Then you wait for the credit to hit.

When it does, you’ll get an email like this:

How Much Does Mediaprobe Pay?

Generally, Mediaprobe pays around $5 per hour of watch time, sometimes a little higher.

That’s not a bad rate if you were going to be watching anyway — but it’s never going to add up to a full-time income.

Here’s my actual earnings so far:

• $10 for the MrBeast video
• $15 for a World Cup game
• $15 for another World Cup game

Total: $40.

For context, that’s a fraction of what you’d make with User Interviews(opens in new tab) ($50-150 an hour) or Respondent(opens in new tab) ($60+ an hour). But those require you to be actively working — answering questions, testing software, and possibly being on camera.

With Mediaprobe, I was on my couch watching soccer.

What are the Mediaprobe Cash Out Options?

I’ve gotten paid as soon as the next day, which is genuinely impressive compared to a lot of apps in this space.

But at press time, Mediaprobe only pays in gift cards.

To their credit, there are hundreds to choose from. (These are facilitated through Tango(opens in new tab), a leader in the space.)

I always end up picking Amazon, because I know I’ll use it eventually.

But if you were hoping for direct deposit, Venmo, or PayPal, you’re out of luck.

A Note on Privacy

Two things worth thinking through before you apply:

The microphone. The app listens to your ambient audio during sessions to confirm what you’re watching. That’s the verification mechanism, and it’s on for the duration of the session.

The biometric data. Galvanic skin response is physiological data about your body’s reactions. That’s the entire product Mediaprobe is selling to networks and advertisers.

Neither of these is hidden — it’s the whole premise of the platform. But it’s a different trade than “answer 20 survey questions for $2,” and it’s worth reading their privacy policy(opens in new tab) and deciding whether you’re comfortable with it.

For me, the sessions are time-boxed and I know exactly when the app is running, so I was fine with it. Your mileage may vary.

Is Mediaprobe Legit?

Yes, Mediaprobe is legit. I applied, they shipped me hardware, I completed sessions, and they paid me — quickly.

The company has been around since 2016, and has thousands of members.

One data point worth sharing on the customer service side: I had a session get denied because I didn’t complete the full watch time. It was a World Cup match where I was supposed to leave the postgame show on for at least 30 minutes, and I probably cut it off after 10 or 15.

A little warning in the app would’ve been nice — something like “hey, you’re about to quit your session early, are you sure?”

But after I politely emailed customer support, they ended up crediting me for the session anyway. That would’ve been well within their right to deny, since technically I didn’t follow the instructions.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Mediaprobe

Use an Old Phone

The app gets kind of unhappy when you leave the session screen for any reason.

So it makes sense to install Mediaprobe on an old phone or a device you’re no longer using — that way you can still text or scroll on your main phone while you’re watching.

Watch the Full Session

Learn from my World Cup mistake. The required watch time includes whatever they specify, postgame shows and all. Set a timer if you have to.

Respond to Invites Quickly

With only 5-10 invites a month, you don’t have a ton of shots on goal. And those are probably only worthwhile if they’re shows you were going to watch anyway.

Route those emails to your primary inbox so you actually see them.

Email Support if Something Goes Sideways

Their team was reasonable with me even when I was in the wrong. Worth a polite email before you write off a session as a loss.

Mediaprobe Pros and Cons

Pros

• Truly passive-ish — You’re getting paid for something you were already doing.
• Fast payment — As soon as next-day credit in my experience.
• Free hardware — They ship you the sensor at no cost.
• Hundreds of gift card options — Not just Amazon.
• Responsive support — They credited a session I technically botched.
• Low risk — Nothing to buy, no ongoing cost.

Cons

• Application only — You can’t just sign up and start earning.
• You don’t choose the content — It’s their assigned shows, at their assigned times.
• Low hourly rate — Around $5/hour of watch time.
• Limited invite volume — 5-10 a month, and you won’t qualify for all of them.
• Gift cards only — No cash out to a bank account.
• Microphone + biometric data required — Not a dealbreaker for everyone, but know what you’re signing up for.
• No early-quit warning — Leave a session early and you may not get paid.

Mediaprobe Alternatives

If Mediaprobe isn’t a fit — or you’re waiting on your application — here are some higher-earning options in the paid research space.

User Interviews

User Interviews(opens in new tab) is a legit facilitator of online (and in-person) consumer research studies. Participants can get paid (generally $50-150/hr) to share their opinion and shape future products and services.

I’ve earned $212 from about two and a half hours of User Interviews studies — roughly $84 an hour.

It takes more active effort than watching TV, but the math is dramatically better. Check out my full User Interviews review(opens in new tab) to learn more.

Respondent

Another popular market research company is Respondent(opens in new tab).

Join for free to get notified of upcoming studies you may qualify for and earn an average of $95 per project. 

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I’ve earned $570 with Respondent so far — $190 of which was for a focus group that involved playing with Legos. Check out our full review(opens in new tab) to learn more.

Other Survey and Research Options

If you like the “get paid for your opinion” model, here are more of Side Hustle Nation’s top picks:

Is Mediaprobe Worth It?

Mediaprobe really does pay, and getting a gift card for watching a World Cup match I’d have watched regardless feels like free money. The hardware works, the payouts are fast, and the support team was fair with me when I messed up a session.

But $5 an hour is $5 an hour. If you’re going out of your way to watch Fox and Friends at 6am because there’s ten bucks in it, you’ve invented a very poorly-paid job.

The best advice I can give: use Mediaprobe for content you were going to watch anyway. That’s the sweet spot. Anything beyond that, and your time is much better spent on a side hustle with higher earning potential.

There’s not a lot of risk or cost in applying, so if you’re a regular TV watcher, it’s worth a shot.

Apply for Mediaprobe here(opens in new tab) — and stack it with a few of the higher-paying research options above if you want this category to actually move the needle.