Mumbai: In a groundbreaking milestone for the media industry, the Media Rating Council (MRC) has officially accredited Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel National TV Measurement. This recognition solidifies Nielsen’s position as the first-ever accredited national TV audience measurement provider to integrate big data with panel methodology, marking a significant evolution in audience measurement.
This accreditation follows the MRC’s recent approval of Nielsen’s integration of first-party live streaming data and the re-accreditation of Nielsen’s traditional panel measurement, further highlighting the company’s commitment to innovation.
Karthik Rao, CEO of Nielsen, stated, “The accreditation of Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel is a landmark moment for TV ratings, as it will forever change audience measurement. No one else pairs a high-quality, representative panel with a data set this large, pulling from smart TVs and set-top boxes in more than 45 million homes. I believe Big Data + Panel gives the industry the most accurate measurement in the history of TV. We’re grateful to our clients for helping us innovate once again.”
“MRC has completed and evaluated rigorous audits of Nielsen’s National Service and its new components, including first party streaming (thus far consisting of select NFL games) and the integration of big data,” said George Ivie, CEO and Executive Director of the MRC. “We have now approved the integration of big data so this combined methodology can be considered MRC accredited; we appreciate Nielsen’s inclusion of this in the MRC accreditation process.” George added, “this effort marks the first time MRC has accredited a hybrid panel/big-data product inclusive of persons level estimates.” George Ivie, Media Rating Council.
The National Football League (NFL), a key Nielsen partner, expressed its support for this advancement. Paul Ballew, Chief Data & Analytics Officer of the NFL, remarked, “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. The accreditation of their Big Data solution is a significant step in the journey, and we commend Nielsen for their efforts.”
Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel National TV Measurement integrates its representative panel data with information from cable and satellite set-top boxes and smart TVs across 45 million households and 75 million devices. This innovative approach improves media planning, advertising measurement, and content programming decisions while providing advanced audience insights at scale.
Adopted widely by broadcasters and agencies during the 2024 Upfront season, Big Data + Panel has already proven its value as a measurement standard and is now being endorsed by Nielsen as the currency for the 2025 Upfront.
Nielsen continues to lead the industry with groundbreaking solutions like Streaming Content Ratings, Streaming Platform Ratings, and Nielsen ONE, which provides deduplicated cross-media solutions. Although Nielsen ONE is not yet submitted for MRC evaluation, it remains part of Nielsen’s ongoing commitment to deliver gold-standard measurement tools to the industry.
With this accreditation, Nielsen reinforces its leadership in audience measurement, advancing its goal of helping the media industry navigate the complexities of an evolving landscape while driving innovation for its clients.
