VAB Wants Audit of Covid-Era Nielsen TV Measures

TV advertising trade group VAB has written to Nielsen CEO David Kenny asking the ratings giant to submit to an immediate audit of its practices, as a result of what it says are 'under-counting' of viewing and lack of 'maintenance' of Nielsen panel homes during the pandemic.

VAB highlighted a number of perceived issues with Nielsen's network viewing data in a press conference last week, reports www.mediapost.com . In the letter, VAB President-CEO Sean Cunningham (picture) wrote: 'The VAB is calling on Nielsen to participate in an independent third-party audit, to conduct an immediate audit with MRC [Media Rating Council] auditor's Ernst & Young, to provide a full disclosure of Nielsen's audit on the 9,400 homes it intends to resume maintenance'.

Nielsen suspended maintenance of most of its 40,000-strong TV panel for the year following March 2020, but says it has now resumed. Cunningham says an audit would help explain why there was a 20% loss of Nielsen TV households panel, and why the number of homes watching no TV whatsoever grew by 3.1 percentage points in the period. He is also concerned about representation on the panel of viewer groups including Black, Hispanic and Asian homes, and under-35s; and recommends MRC's auditor Ernst & Young as 'a highly appropriate, impartial and extremely well-qualified independent auditor'.

The VAB has requested a response by this Monday, 19th April, given that the $20 billion TV upfront advertising marketplace is set to begin in a few weeks. In a statement to the publication Television News Daily, Nielsen said it was 'committed to providing reliable and accurate data to the media industry', has received VAB's letter and 'is in the process of evaluating its next steps'.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .