Troubled Nielsen to update measurements for local television

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Increasingly under fire from its clients, the Nielsen company says it will soon incorporate homes that have cut the cable cord and rely on broadband in its measurement of local TV viewership. That accounts for roughly 20% of the viewership now nationally, although cord-cutting varies from market to market. Broadband homes are already included in national TV ratings. The company that essentially holds a monopoly in measuring how people watch TV, providing the economic backbone of the industry, has been accused of not keeping up with the rapidly changing times. Nielsen disputes that, while admitting the pandemic hurt its efforts to maintain the size of its viewing panels.