For those following Nielsen’s struggles over the last few years, you will already know that the limited access to first-party data makes tracking streaming ratings with the same efficacy we once could cable difficult. However, that lack could now be behind us. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, has all the facts on this new breaking news.
A Shift in Audience Measurement
Last week, the Media Rating Council formally approved Nielsen’s plan to incorporate streaming platforms’ first-party data into its national TV ratings. This could be the boost that truly comprehensive audience measurement needed to stay meaningful in a fast-changing entertainment landscape.
The initial implementation of this “panel plus big data” measurement system has been limited, but it is promising. Amazon’s Thursday Night Football has served as the test case to date. Intriguingly, it showed an 8% increase in viewership when streaming data is included, or a jump from 13.2M to 14.26M viewers per game.
A Repeating Pattern
Nor is Thursday Night Football the only case where this has happened. In fact, NBC’s Sunday Night Football showed even more dramatic gains, with streaming on Peacock and other digital platforms boosting average viewership from 18.9M to 21.3M — a 13% increase. Other major networks, including Fox, ESPN, and CBS, have reported comparable streaming-driven audience increases for live sports events.
That’s live sports, however. There’s limitations still to face for non-live events, as most regular programming doesn’t stream simultaneously with its broadcast airings. Despite these constraints, integrating streaming data into traditional ratings will be a big step forward for the industry overall. Networks and streaming platforms increasingly rely on verifiable quantitative evidence of their total reach, primarily to woo advertisers to their service in an ad-supported era.
It seems that a more accurate representation of true audience numbers is, if not here, then at least a whole lot closer than it once was— and that’s definitely something to celebrate.
Film and Television 