Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel approach to TV measurement has been recognized, becoming the first ratings provider to do so.

Media Ratings Council certification sends a signal to the industry that Nielsen's combination of traditional panel measurements (sample of ~100,000 people) with data from ~75 million digital devices (smart TVs, set-top boxes, etc.) is a highly effective method. sound. Nielsen said it will encourage clients to use big data and panel measurement as currency in the upcoming upfront ad buying season.

Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said in a statement: "Certification of the Nielsen Big Data+ Panel is a landmark moment for TV ratings as it will forever change audience measurement. standards. ” “No one has been able to combine a high-quality, representative panel with such a large data set, drawn from more than 4,500 Smart TVs and set-top boxes in 10,000 homes. I believe the Big Data+ panel provides the industry with the most accurate measurements in TV history. We thank our customers for helping us innovate again.”

The Big Data Plus Panel Measurement certification follows the Media Ratings Council's endorsement of Nielsen's integration of first-party streaming data with its traditional live event measurement (currently only for NFL games on Amazon Prime Video, but that may change) carried out. The committee also renewed its recognition of Nielsen Panel measurements in November.

Media Ratings Council CEO and Executive Director George Ivie said: "MRC has completed and evaluated a rigorous review of Nielsen National Service and its new components, including first-party streaming (including select NFL games to date) and major Integration of data. "This work marks the first time the MRC has endorsed a hybrid panel/big data product that includes person-level estimates."

The "big data" part of the hybrid approach saw Nielsen gather information from 45 million U.S. households, involving about 75 million devices. Combining this with panel data creates a system of checks and balances: A broader piece of big data might capture more niche shows that sometimes show up as zero ratings for panel houses versus the panel's detailed demographic details (representative of the population as a whole) can be applied in reverse and extrapolated to larger sets.

The big data/panel hybrid also has the backing of the National Football League, which is responsible for most of the biggest telecasts of any given year. "The NFL continues to support Nielsen's efforts to modernize measurement so we can all benefit from accurate insights in an increasingly fragmented media marketplace," said Paul Ballew, the league's chief data and analytics officer. "Certification of their big data solution is an important step in this process, and we commend Nielsen for its efforts."