Does Nielsen have the power to stop the forces that continue to shrink cable TV viewers?
In the long run, not so much. However, with a new twist added to the company’s estimates of the total number of TV viewers by media, the number of cable TV viewers overall is likely to increase.
Nielsen has notified clients that it will begin implementing research into consumer behavior in television and digital media conducted by the Advertising Research Foundation, an organization that seeks uniform standards for research in advertising and marketing. The board includes executives from Bank of America, Comscore, and The Coca-Cola Company.
The group’s DASH study, conducted annually starting in 2021 and receiving industry certification from the Media Rating Council in early 2026, documents how U.S. households connect to and consume television, use video-enabled digital devices, and interact with and share streaming media and e-commerce accounts. DASH is a syndicated survey conducted in partnership with NORC, a public opinion research firm at the University of Chicago.
The new data, which is expected to be added to Nielsen’s ratings methodology this week, could temporarily expand the number of households, or “worlds,” that watch cable and broadcast TV, and reduce overall streaming viewership, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“Nielsen is committed to producing the most accurate and relevant data possible for our clients. This enhancement, in conjunction with many of our recent product innovations, will help us achieve that,” Nielsen said in a statement. “The ARF DASH TV Universe Study was recently certified by the MRC and the industry has embraced it. We are working directly with our clients to help support them through this update.”
The update comes as Nielsen receives complaints about new big data technology that relies on information on smart TV screen viewership and the company’s regular consumer panels. The new data, drawn from viewer interactions with cable and satellite set-top boxes and smart TVs across 45 million homes and 75 million devices, was released in recent weeks by VAB, an industry group acting on behalf of national media companies. A recent analysis by VAB found new data to be unstable across key demographic aggregates, including viewers between the ages of 25 and 54. 18 and 49. And 18 and 34.
Nielsen’s partnership with ARF was not prompted by recent VAB complaints about the company’s technology, according to people familiar with the matter. The MRC suggested that employing independent sources for media-related global estimates would improve overall representation.
As part of its guidance regarding its partnership with ARF, Nielsen told television networks and others that they should not rely solely on early viewership projections released using panel information alone. The actual measurements used when making advertising deals and other business transactions are a combination of panels and big data tables.
