Big Data Panel Provides More Accurate Measurement
Data Than Ever Before
New Big Data Panel Rankings to be Available for Press
New York - September 2, 2025 - With the start of the broadcast and football seasons this month, Nielsen today shared several updates for reporters covering TV, as the industry is adopting Nielsen's enhanced Big Data Panel methodology. Nielsen is the first accredited national TV audience measurement provider for Big Data Panel, which provides the most-accurate TV measurement to date. For more on Big Data Panel, watch this video.
The embrace of Big Data Panel ratings marks a once in a generation enhancement for the industry, said Karthik Rao, Nielsen CEO. Combining the trusted, historical measurement of our Nielsen homes with millions of big data inputs gives us the most accurate numbers ever. We developed this measurement advancement in service of and in collaboration with our clients. We are proud to work with them to deliver these numbers for the new season.
Updated Press Policy
As of September 1, Nielsen's Press Policy outlines that all press claims by broadcasters, networks and streamers should be based on Big Data Panel. Due to the fact that Big Data Panel data is generally delivered to Nielsen clients two to three days after a premiere, there is an exception to the press policy for single day events. If a client chooses to send next day claims to press, these should be sourced as Nielsen Preliminary Data. The Big Data Panel update will be treated as a final number for press claims.
Nielsen.com Rankings
While the majority of Big Data Panel ratings news will come directly from clients, Nielsen is also updating its press website and client portal to reflect the new methodology. Starting October 1, the page will include the following weekly rankings with Big Data Panel: Broadcast Programs; Broadcast Network Averages; Cable Programs; Cable Network Averages; Syndication Programs; Sports Events; and Total Scheduled Programming. These rankings will start with the official beginning of the Broadcast season on September 22. The data for the week of September 22 will be available on October 1.
Nielsen Data: By the Numbers
Nielsen is the leading measurement provider for TV ratings and live sports, holding current deals with all major broadcasters, streamers and professional sports leagues. Big Data Panel was widely adopted by the vast majority of broadcasters and agencies as currency for the 2025 Upfront. Here's an overview of the level of data Nielsen measures:
The company delivers over 100 terabytes of data to clients every day.
In the typical month, Nielsen measures more than 1 trillion minutes of viewing across all streaming apps.
Nielsen's Big Data Panel includes measurement from set-top boxes and smart TVs across 45 million households and 75 million devices.
Nielsen's persons panel consists of more than 42,000 homes and 100,000 people across the U.S., by far the largest of its kind domestically.
After scaling its Out of Home measurement to cover all of the U.S. earlier this year, Nielsen is actively recruiting an additional 8,600 out of home panelists to further enhance measurement.
Every month, Nielsen releases The Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge, the trusted sources of truth for the share of time spent across TV.
Every week, the company shares its Nielsen Streaming Top 10, the defining list of top streaming TV shows and movies.
Every quarter, Nielsen releases The Ad Supported Gauge, providing the most comprehensive look at the portion of TV that delivers advertising across broadcast, cable and streaming.
About Big Data Panel
Big Data Panel National TV Measurement combines Nielsen's unique, high-quality representative panel measurement with data from cable, satellite set-top boxes and smart TVs across 45 million households and 75 million devices. Nielsen is also incorporating first-party data from participating streaming services to help measure audiences for live streaming events. These are massive datasets that capture TV viewing at the device level.
Big Data Panel fuels planning and measurement in the Nielsen ecosystem and partners' systems, enabling cross-platform advanced audiences at scale. This measurement innovation can be utilized to support the media industry beyond advertising planning and buying, by helping to inform content programming and licensing decisions, along with carriage fees for TV distribution deals.
Big Data Panel continues Nielsen's track record of innovation and modernization. In addition to bringing Big Data Panel measurement to the market, Nielsen has expanded National TV out-of-home measurement. Nielsen is also the industry leader in streaming measurement with widely adopted products like Streaming Content Ratings (which feeds in Nielsen's Streaming Top 10) and Streaming Platform Ratings (which provides the streaming data behind The Gauge and Media Distributor Gauge).
About Nielsen
Nielsen is a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics. Through our understanding of people and their behaviors across all channels and platforms, we empower our clients with independent and actionable intelligence so they can connect and engage with their global audiences-now and into the future.
For advertisers, agencies, and publishers, Nielsen has recently expanded Nielsen ONE to include outcomes capabilities, in addition to advanced audiences, planning and measurement. Learn more at www.nielsen.com and connect with us on social media (X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram).
Contacts
Lauren Pabst, Nielsen Communications lauren.pabst@nielsen.com
Carole Robinson, Nielsen Communications carole.robinson@nielsen.com
More from Nielsen
11/09/2025
Warsaw, Poland, 20.08.25: Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest July All Screens Video Landscape repor...
11/09/2025
Warner Bros. Discovery to add key Big Data and Advanced Audience capabilities fr...
09/09/2025
Streaming drives 55.8% of total TV time for Hispanic viewers,
outpacing 46% fo...
03/09/2025
New Gracenote Video MCP Server brings veracity and relevance to large language model-driven content discovery
NEW YORK - September 3, 2025 - Gracenote, the con...
02/09/2025
Big Data Panel Provides More Accurate Measurement
Data Than Ever Before
New...
27/08/2025
News and horror genres are biggest drivers of FAST expansion according to Gracen...
26/08/2025
YouTube Captures 13.4% of TV Viewing in Sixth Consecutive Month as the Top Media...
20/08/2025
Auckland, New Zealand - 19 August 2025: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, is pleased to announce a two-year extension for T...
20/08/2025
July, much like June, is a month marked by summer weather and vacations, which has reflected in a further decline in viewer activity in front of TV screens. The...
20/08/2025
During July, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.9 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 24.6% of T...
20/08/2025
Netflix, YouTube and The Roku Channel Each Hit Platform Highs
Netflix Owns 8 of...
20/08/2025
New collaboration brings granular audience insights from NMC so advertisers, agencies, and publishers can gain a better understanding of their audience
Now ava...
13/08/2025
Sydney - August 13, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, today announced the upcoming launch of Connected TV (CTV) insi...
06/08/2025
Nielsen ONE planning unifies data, empowering both buy and sell sides to reach a...
06/08/2025
New advanced audience integration provides interoperability, helps brands reach their audiences.
NEW YORK - August 5, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audien...
06/08/2025
Auckland - August 6, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement and...
06/08/2025
NPR and Ocean Media Among Charter Subscribers
For the First Time Advertisers Ca...
01/08/2025
New open ecosystem in Nielsen ONE provides more holistic view
of an ad's o...
29/07/2025
Streaming Holds Steady in a Lighter Summer Viewership Season
NEW YORK - July 29...
23/07/2025
Netflix Posts Largest Monthly Increase Among Media Companies - Climbs to Largest...
22/07/2025
During June, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 23.7...
22/07/2025
Sydney - July 17, 2025 - Australia's leading financial brands have significantly increased their advertising investment, showing 16% year-on-year growth, ac...
21/07/2025
June, the first month of summer and the start of a vacation season, brought an expected decrease in viewer activity in front of TV screens. The latest data indi...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 17, 2025 - Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has announced the appointment of Ryan Moore to the new role of Chief Business O...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
09/07/2025
Collaboration will result in improved data quality and understanding of genre-le...
25/06/2025
YouTube Extends Lead and Tops All Media Distributors for Fourth Consecutive Mont...
25/06/2025
Copenhagen, Denmark - June 25, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measu...
24/06/2025
Initial enhancement comes in Germany, before roll out in further EMEA markets
LONDON, UK June 23, 2025 Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
19/06/2025
May 2025 was a month packed with events that captivated viewers, from the presidential campaign in Poland to the international Eurovision Song Contest. It's...
19/06/2025
During May, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 23.5%...
17/06/2025
Streaming Notches a Record 44.8% of Total TV Usage in May
Streaming Usage Up 71...
12/06/2025
Over a third of global football fans find brand sponsorship appealing and 41% of all sports sponsorships are in that sport.
The FIFA World Cup 2026TM will open...
05/06/2025
Show-level visibility and granular contextual targeting enabled by Gracenote gives brands more confidence in CTV buys
NEW YORK June 5, 2025 Gracenote, the...
04/06/2025
Viewership figures once again show appeal of important live sporting events
Mil...
03/06/2025
Nielsen and VIZIO's Inscape are extending their strategic data relationship, building on our collaboration that began in 2022. This multi-year agreement rei...
29/05/2025
Renewal Spans all 18 Local Fox Markets and Includes Streaming Measurement of Loc...
29/05/2025
Leading streamers expanded TV, movie and sports titles by 5% in Q2; Netflix led ...
27/05/2025
Mumbai, India
Brazil
Guadalajara, Mexico
Philippines
Poland
Throughout the month of April, Nielsen employees celebrated Global Volunteer Month with volunte...
27/05/2025
Paramount Exhibits Largest Monthly Increase in April's Media Distributor Gau...
22/05/2025
Sports fans can now seamlessly go between platforms and content types to follow favorite sports teams, live games and related content with Gracenote Nexus Auto
...
21/05/2025
The seventh annual report uncovers how marketers are adapting to market trends a...
21/05/2025
During April, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous month, accounting for 24....
21/05/2025
Streaming Accounts for 44.3% of TV viewing in April, vs. 45.3% for Broadcast and...
21/05/2025
The April 2025 data is in line with the seasonal trend observed in previous years. As in April last year, there was a decline in viewership associated with impr...
Big Data Panel Provides More Accurate Measurement 
