Advertisement

Nielsen on the Hot Seat: What Happens If TV Ratings Company's Accreditation Is Suspended?

Nielsen was put on notice Wednesday when the Video Advertising Bureau -- the industry group representing virtually all of the major TV networks -- asked the Media Ratings Council (MRC) to suspend the TV ratings company's accreditation. But what would that even mean, let alone change in the networks' long-running conflict with the ratings data company? To the networks that VAB CEO Sean Cunningham represents, a suspension of MRC accreditation would acknowledge the "flaws and caveats" in Nielsen's data, he told TheWrap. Nielsen ratings have for decades been used as either the sole or primary currency in negotiating prices for advertising on television. And for many years now, they've also been problematic. Recently, an MRC audit found that Nielsen undercounted viewers during the coronavirus pandemic. Nielsen’s total usage of television by adults 18-49 — the demographic a majority of ad prices are based on — was understated by 2% to 6% during February, which was the timeframe the MRC used to conduct the audit. Additionally, the MRC believes that “persons using television” among that same age group was understated by 1% to 5%. An accreditation suspension wouldn't render Nielsen ratings worthless or automatically replace the longstanding industry leader with an alternative --...

Read original story Nielsen on the Hot Seat: What Happens If TV Ratings Company's Accreditation Is Suspended? At TheWrap