Does Nielsen have the power to bring a halt to the forces that keep shrinking the audience for cable TV?
In the long term, no. But a new twist in the company’s estimations of the total number of people watching television by medium is likely to result in a bigger cable audience overall.
Nielsen has informed its clients that it will start incorporating results from a study of consumer behavior in TV and digital media done by the Advertising Research Foundation, an organization that presses for unified standards of research in advertising and marketing. Its board of directors includes executives from Bank of America, Comscore and Coca-Cola Co.
The group’s DASH study, which has been conducted annually since 2021 and was granted industry accreditation by the Media Rating Council earlier in 2026, records how U.S. households connect to and consume TV, use video-capable digital devices, and interact with and share streaming media and ecommerce accounts. DASH is a syndicated study fielded in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, a polling firm.
The new data is expected to be added to Nielsen’s ratings methodology this week, according to two people familiar with the matter, and could result in a one-time expansion of the number of households, or “universe,” watching cable and broadcast TV, and a potential diminution of the overall audience watching streaming.
“Nielsen is committed to producing the most accurate and relevant data possible for our clients. This enhancement, in coordination with many of our recent product innovations, helps us do that,” Nielsen said in a statement. “The ARF DASH TV Universe Study was recently accredited by the MRC and the industry has embraced it. We are working with clients directly to help guide them through this update.”
The update is revealed while Nielsen has been fielding complaints about its new Big Data technology that relies on information about smart-TV screen viewership as well as the company’s usual panel of consumers. The new data comes from audience interactions with cable and satellite set-top boxes and smart TVs across 45 million households and 75 million devices, but in recent weeks, the VAB, an industry group that works on behalf of national media companies. A recent analysis by VAB found that the new data was unstable in its tabulation of key demographics, including viewers between 25 and 54; 18 and 49; and 18 and 34.
Nielsen’s alliance with ARF was not spurred by recent VAB complaints about its technology, according to people familiar with the matter. The MRC has suggested that employing an independent source for media-related universe estimates would improve the overall representation
As part of its guidance around its alliance with the ARF, Nielsen has told TV networks and others that they should not rely solely on the early audience projections it issues using only its panel information. The true measurement to be used in doing ad deals and other business transactions are the combined panel plus Big Data tabulation.
English (US) ·