Nielsen is a media audience measurement and data analytics company. It studies viewing, listening and engagement across media and technology platforms and provides information and measurement services for broadcasters, streaming services, advertisers, agencies, publishers and media owners. Nielsen says it operates in more than 55 markets.[1]
Its audience measurement products cover linear television, streaming and digital media. Nielsen ONE brings planning, cross-media measurement and outcomes tools into a connected product suite; Nielsen describes its audience reporting as deduplicated across platforms.[3][4]
For U.S. national television measurement, Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel methodology combines a representative panel with data from cable and satellite set-top boxes and internet-connected televisions. In January 2025, Nielsen announced that the Media Rating Council had accredited the methodology. The announcement quotes the MRC about its audit and accreditation process.[5]
Nielsen and NielsenIQ are separate businesses. Nielsen completed the sale of its former Global Connect consumer measurement division to Advent International in March 2021; the business subsequently operated as NielsenIQ. Nielsen Holdings plc, then the parent company of Nielsen, was sold to a private-equity consortium led by Evergreen Coast Capital and Brookfield in October 2022 and ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[6][7]
In October 2026, Marketing Dive reported that an independent Nielsen study of Panda Express’s Roblox and Fortnite activations measured increases in brand awareness, consideration and recommendation. The findings were shared with the outlet by the companies; Nielsen did not separately publish the study.[8]
