Nielsen will delay March Gauge report after Streamers raise concerns

Streaming viewership continues to grow – or does it?

The next edition of “The Gauge,” a monthly snapshot from Nielsen that purports to examine all broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen, will be delayed by a week or after Nielsen reveals to customers that the survey would likely reveal a decline in streaming audiences. That dynamic has caused some hand-wringing among many of the new tech companies, according to three people familiar with the matter, who have seen their fortunes soar while capturing scores of new broadband viewers.

The problem, Nielsen says, is the rollout earlier this year of new data showing how U.S. households connect to and consume TV, use video-enabled digital devices, and interact with and share streaming media and e-commerce accounts. The survey, known as DASH, is a syndicated study conducted in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, a polling firm. Nielsen had previously told customers that use of the data could result in a one-time expansion of the number of households, or “universe,” that watch cable and broadcast television, and a possible reduction in the total audience that watches streaming.

“As we began our standard monthly Gauge previews with customers this week, some customers requested additional data around DASH implementation. We will provide them with that information,” Nielsen said in a statement to Variety. As a result, we are delaying the release of The Gauge by one week to coincide with the release of The Media Distributor Gauge on March 24th. We believe this will enable a smoother transition and give customers and the industry a better holistic view of the February viewing experience.”

Nielsen’s Gauge has become a new high point in the industry’s never-ending struggle to count audiences spread across dozens of screens and with different viewing habits. But the push-and-pull behind the scenes on the next release shows that Nielsen will have to serve a new generation of customers – companies like Amazon, Roku and Netflix – that could be just as challenging as traditional customers like CBS, Fox and NBC.

The next Gauge was expected to show an increase in cable and television viewership, driven in part by the new DASH data, but also by the attention paid in recent weeks to the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl, both broadcast and streamed via NBC and Peacock. According to Nielsen, the increase in traditional TV is not expected to continue in the longer term, but the expansion of streaming is.

Nielsen says it has informed all customers of the expected adjustments in multiple ways. “”The ARF DASH universe estimates are accredited by the Media Rating Council. The MRC TV Committee, made up of more than 80 Nielsen customers, has overwhelmingly contributed to Nielsen’s rapid adoption of DASH,” said Nielsen. “Over the course of several months, we communicated this change to our customers through product notifications, webinars and MRC meetings before implementing it in late January. We believe this change better reflects the TV landscape.”

The streaming companies may have started buffering the new Gauge results as they become increasingly reliant on advertising dollars – just like their more traditional rivals. Amazon has become an increasingly aggressive player during TV’s “Upfront Week,” and for good reason. The company’s decision to make ad-supported Prime Video the de facto level of service for subscribers means the digital giant has tons of commercial inventory to sell. Netflix, with executives who once vowed never to advertise on the company’s popular streaming service, now offers an ad-supported tier and is increasingly willing to allow various advertisers to create tailored commercials and promotions around some of its most popular shows.

Despite the emergence of a host of new measurement rivals in recent years, Nielsen tables remain the bedrock of ad sales in the U.S. TV industry. The more people between the ages of 18 and 49 or between the ages of 25 and 54 watch a particular program, the more the company showing the series can charge potential sponsors.

Many things are changing in the TV world, but as this latest industry debate shows, Nielsen’s place in it is not yet one of them.