Nielsen announced it would further delay the release of its popular “gauge” after the measurement giant’s decision to add new data to the mix left some customers alarmed by a drop in streaming viewership. This is a monthly record of the viewing status of linear and digital screens.
“We had planned to share February’s ‘The Gage’ and ‘Media Distributor Gage’ on March 24th, but we are postponing the delivery of both reports,” Peter Naylor, Nielsen’s chief customer officer, said in a letter issued Friday and seen by Variety. “We are not making any methodological changes to The Febebage Gauge and plan to release it in April with the same methodology we used in January.”
At issue is new data introduced earlier this year that shows how American households connect and watch TV, use video-enabled digital devices, and interact with and share streaming media and e-commerce accounts. The study, known as DASH, is a syndicated study conducted in partnership with polling firm NORC at the University of Chicago. Nielsen previously told clients that the use of data could temporarily expand the number of households, or “worlds,” that watch cable and broadcast TV, and reduce viewership for overall streaming viewing.
Nielsen will “pause releases of ‘The Gage’ in March to minimize trend breaks,” Naylor said, adding: “We will continue to update our gauge methodology through the start of the fall season in line with additional improvements promised to our currency products.” Nielsen said: “While we know there are divided opinions on this among our broad customer base, we believe this is the best and least disruptive path forward for our industry.”
Nielsen’s gauge is the latest highlight in the industry’s never-ending battle to count viewers spread across dozens of screens and different viewing behaviors. But the behind-the-scenes push and pull surrounding its next release shows Nielsen will have to accommodate a new generation of customers like Amazon, Roku and Netflix that can be just as difficult as traditional customers like CBS, Fox and NBC.
The next gauge was expected to reveal an uptick in cable and broadcast ratings, driven in part by new DASH data, but also due to increased attention in recent weeks to the Winter Olympics and Super Bowl, which will be broadcast on TV and streamed via NBC and Peacock. Nielsen points out that the growth in traditional TV won’t continue in the long term, but the growth in streaming will.
When Nielsen first started releasing “gauge” data updates, it did so as a way to showcase its measurement capabilities as streaming increased. But the company didn’t think of this as a data set that media and streaming companies would use to set policy.
“The Gauge is not a product, and we regret that we did not provide sufficient impact data upfront,” Naylor said in the letter. The company intends to continue improving its data methodology, which has been enhanced in recent months with so-called “big data” that reflects interactions captured via smart TVs. “The goal is to adjust The Gauge to these changes as seamlessly as possible over time, and we will be explaining that to your team in more detail,” Naylor said.
