the due diligence desk

Before you pick a TV currency: the measurement questions

The same month of TV can read as mostly linear or mostly streaming depending on whose currency you use and how it files virtual pay-TV. Nielsen counts YouTube TV as broadcast and cable, Comscore credits those ads to the originating network, and method changes like wearable meters move the totals. A buyer negotiating on these numbers should know the rules behind them.

1. How do you classify ads watched on YouTube TV, Sling and Hulu Live: as linear, as streaming, or split?

   Comscore credits those ads to the originating network, and counted as streaming its 22.3 percent streaming share lands closer to 30 percent.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Unmeasured: Comscore Says Linear Holds 78% of TV Ad Time. Streaming Just Took Most of the Primetime Upfront.
2. Can we see the monthly series behind each trend claim in your release, so we can check it against your chart?

   Comscore's release cites a streaming plateau around 19 percent, but its chart shows 16.1 to 18.5 percent for September through January.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Unmeasured: Comscore Says Linear Holds 78% of TV Ad Time. Streaming Just Took Most of the Primetime Upfront.
3. Why does your streaming share differ from other currencies for the same month, and what explains the gap?

   Comscore put streaming at 22.3 percent of TV ad exposure time in August, while Nielsen's Gauge had streaming at 49.6 percent of all TV viewing.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Unmeasured: Comscore Says Linear Holds 78% of TV Ad Time. Streaming Just Took Most of the Primetime Upfront.
4. When you report a platform's share of TV time, which of its products are included and which are credited to other categories?

   Nielsen's YouTube line is YouTube Main only, and it has credited YouTube TV hours to broadcast and cable since February 2023.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Unmeasured: Nielsen Crowns YouTube the Top TV Streamer. YouTube TV Counts as Cable.
5. On a virtual pay-TV hour, how do you split network ad minutes from minutes the distributor inserts?

   iSpot counts network ads on a YouTube TV hour as linear and the distributor's two inserted minutes as CTV, so about one ad minute in seven or eight counts as streaming.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Unmeasured: Nielsen Crowns YouTube the Top TV Streamer. YouTube TV Counts as Cable.
6. How much of this season's change in your audience counts came from method changes rather than viewing?

   Nielsen's wearable meters lifted total viewers 4.19 percent in trials and are part of the currency as of the 2026-27 season.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Karthik Rao Spent Two Decades Learning Nielsen. Now He's Rebuilding It.
7. Which parts of your currency are MRC accredited today, and which are still under audit?

   Nielsen's CEO called the 25,000-hour MRC audit brutal, and the company kept submitting to it.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Karthik Rao Spent Two Decades Learning Nielsen. Now He's Rebuilding It.
8. If you own a verification company, how will its data and business stay separate from the currency you sell?

   Nielsen agreed to buy DoubleVerify for about $2.15 billion in enterprise value, with closing expected in early 2027.

   Prompted by ADOTAT: Karthik Rao Spent Two Decades Learning Nielsen. Now He's Rebuilding It.

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