Nielsen, networks clash on stats showing fewer viewers

NEW YORK (AP) — People have been stuck at home for a year due to COVID-19 restrictions, with movie theaters closed, concert venues closed, restaurants closed, sports attendance restricted — yet television viewing is down?

That makes no sense to networks and cable and satellite providers, who are complaining that the Nielsen company is inaccurately counting how many people are actually watching.

Nielsen's reply, in a nutshell: the truth hurts.

It's an argument with financial implications, since networks later this spring begin selling advertising for the next year. Fewer viewers equal fewer ad dollars.

Through the trade group Video Advertising Bureau, the networks are perplexed by Nielsen statistics that show the percentage of Americans who watched their televisions at least some time during the week declined from 92% in 2019 to 87% so far this year.

Besides being counter-intuitive in the pandemic era, the VAB says that finding runs counter to other evidence, including viewing measurements from set-top cable boxes, the increased amount of streaming options that have become available and a jump in sales for television sets.

“We think the market deserves a lot more clarity,” said Sean Cunningham, president and CEO of the VAB, on Tuesday.

The number of families, particularly large families, participating in Nielsen measurements has dropped over the past year in percentages similar to the decrease in viewership, Cunningham said. Nielsen acknowledges that its sample size is smaller — the company is not sending personnel into homes because of COVID-19 — but said statistics are being weighted to account for the change.

Last week, for example, average prime-time viewership on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox was down 16% from the same week in 2020. The decrease would have...