A controversial on-air attack by the NFL against Nielsen, just days before the beginning of the 2025 season, on the claim that it intentionally undersells billions of television viewers and yields billions of dollars in potential advertising revenue deficits that would create a paradigm shift in the landscape of the entire television industry, has drawn a provocative public response.
Measurement accuracy of the league is co-viewed
On Tuesday, Paul Ballew, the Chief Data & Analytics Officer of the NFL, made several swings at Nielsen, alleging that the ratings giant was under-reporting the viewership of numerous telecasts of the league, per Deadline. Specifically, Ballew criticized the counting of so-called tentpole events such as the Thanksgiving Day games and the Super Bowl, which are watched by huge audiences in front of television sets.
Speaking on a media conference call that included league officials, Ballew claimed that Nielsen has a 2.3 to 2.4-fold co-viewing factor multiplied by the number of households watching. That is to say that in the event a game attracted 10 million households, Nielsen translates that to imply that 23 million or 24 million viewers were really watching.
According to NFL research, more people view
Ballew said that over the years, the league has raised concerns with that methodology. It feels that the multiple is not rational in light of studies it has done with third parties, such as the University of Chicago. The NFL continues to insist that a more reasonable co-viewing figure would be something multiplied by 2.8 or 2.9.
The difference between the league and Nielsen is between 15 million to 20 million additional viewers to the Super Bowl, said Ballew. We do not have a fix yet on it, said Ballew. We have considered other options too, he said, and we are still labouring over that.
Nielsen implements a new measurement system
Nielsen, whose CEO, Karthik Rao, assumed the top job in 2023 after the company was taken private, introduced a new measurement system on Tuesday, before the season, according to Front Office Sports. The Big Data + Panel National TV Measurement program, developed by the company, is a combination of the traditional panel measurement and the information provided by the cable, satellite set-tops, and smart TVs of approximately 45 million households and 75 million devices.
Although Ballew credited Nielsen with making a big step toward the new data-plus-panel system, he noted that the deliberations about the redefinition of game methodology have stalled. The trouble with all that, though, is that it is a very long ride with Nielsen, he said.
Other measurement companies become interested
Various upstart companies have emerged in recent years to attempt to challenge Nielsen in the ratings derby, and as a strategic measure, some firms have marketed their deals with more recent measurement companies such as VideoAmp or iSpot. In the call, when questioned about his opinion regarding VideoAmp, which had partnered with Paramount to give ratings on NFL games, Ballew replied that the NFL found what the firm was offering in terms of measurement intriguing.
Ballew said that Nielsen, in responding to the issues of the league, could not be induced to go beyond neutral and so could not really get down the road. Networks and advertisers, particularly over the last streaming-focused decade, have complained about the slow pace at Nielsen, which functions as a virtual monopoly.
Much more than bragging rights, billions of dollars are invested in NFL games annually, and even slight changes in viewership and subsequent advertising rates can be substantial. The very fact that the NFL itself condemned Nielsen concerning its ratings measure is evidence of the economic stake in the accuracy of TV ratings, where billions of advertising dollars are at stake as the league looks to more accurate ways of rating in a more complex media environment.