Nielsen’s national TV ratings service reaccredited after 19-month suspension

Nielsen’s National Television Audience Measurement service had its third-party accreditation reinstated by the Media Rating Council, marking a victory for the legacy measurement firm that has long served as the standard-bearer of the media industry but has weathered stiff competition and criticism in recent years.

The reinstatement, issued Monday, comes a year and a half after Nielsen’s national TV service lost its accreditation following the company’s admission that it had lowballed TV viewing audiences in the early months of the pandemic. TV networks and the Video Advertising Bureau trade group had been crying foul for months prior to the admission, as undercounted audiences translated to hundreds of millions of dollars in estimated lost advertising revenue during an already challenging time to sell ads.

Since then, Nielsen has worked to implement the necessary fixes to get its national TV audience measurement service back up to snuff. But that work has been slow going, and in 2022, the TV industry headed into upfronts season with no third-party accredited measurement option to transact on. Nielsen had hoped to have its national TV service accreditation reinstated in 2022.

“Nielsen has undertaken strong efforts to correct the issues that led to its loss of MRC accreditation 19 months ago and to restore key aspects of its panel performance,” George W. Ivie, executive director and CEO of the MRC, said in a statement. “The MRC’s audit has shown these efforts have been successful, and as a result, our TV Committee and Board agreed that accreditation should be reinstated. That said, there is still more work to be done both in the near and long term to ensure Nielsen’s National TAM measurements continue to meet our standards and the requirements of the industry.”

Not so fast: For now, the reinstatement does not pertain to Nielsen’s Local Market Television Service, which also had its accreditation suspended following similar concerns about undercounts. Nielsen One, the measurement firm’s attempt at an all-in-one measurement option for the media industry spanning linear and digital viewing, also remains unaccredited for now, according to the MRC.

“Our attention is focused squarely on the significant improvements still needed on Nielsen’s planned but unaudited successor product, Big Data + Panel and Nielsen’s plans for its imminent use as trading currency,” Sean Cunningham, president and CEO of the Video Advertising Bureau, said in a statement.