The news: Nielsen is retiring its panel-only measurement in Q4 2025, the company announced last week, marking the end of a measurement model that defined decades of linear TV advertising.

The news came shortly after the measurement company disclosed that its newest product, Big Data + Panel, had been approved by the Media Rating Council (MRC) and would be ready for use by 2025 Upfronts.

Out with the old: Nielsen’s transition away from panel-only measurement is an attempt to meet advertiser demand for more robust data sets as well as to better compete with a glut of companies vying for a share of its advertising empire.

• In a July Advertiser Perceptions survey of marketers who spend at least $250,000 annually on advertising, 37% of respondents said that connected TV and over-the-top video were better at measuring campaign effectiveness than linear TV. Other perks, like converting leads into sales (36%) and reaching high-value audiences (36%) reflect an appetite for advertising on platforms that can offer more granular insights than linear TV.
• Following Nielsen’s (now reinstated) loss of MRC accreditation for panel ratings in 2021, several networks called for the industry to move away from its standard and instead adopt cross-media measurement solutions that meet marketers’ evolving needs.
• Since then, many of those networks have formed a consortium called the Joint Industry Committee to give credibility to Nielsen competitors including iSpot, VideoAmp, and Comscore.

Our take: Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel accreditation and sunsetting of its panel-only measurement is symbolic of the new chapter in video advertising. While the company still argues that its panel measurement continues to have a place in the evolving world of digital video and TV consumption, its big data integration shows it recognizes that advertisers will leave outdated solutions behind.

This year’s Upfront period will be a significant test of Nielsen’s staying power. Marketers are showing an increased willingness to use Nielsen alternatives, but now that the measurement stalwart is offering similar capabilities, the company may have effectively maintained its competitive edge.

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