For the third time in less than two years, Nielsen is about to roll out a significant change to its media measurement, something that will once again have huge impacts across sports media.
Following its introduction of expanded out-of-home tabulation early last year and the September 2025 rollout of Big Data + Panel process, Nielsen is readying a widespread adoption of a new co-viewing measurement methodology.
The new system is aimed at providing greater clarity on group viewing patterns and follows a pilot program conducted early this year. On the heels of that effort, Nielsen is now preparing the expanded co-viewing to be part of official audience measurements, known within the media business as “currency,” as soon as September and the arrival of the 2026–27 television season.
“This is obviously complex stuff, but our goal is still very simple: we want to be as accurate as possible, and this is the next iteration of Big Data,” Nielsen head of global sports Seth Ladetsky tells Front Office Sports.
Here are four key questions surrounding the latest big change from Nielsen that is now on the horizon:
