Nielsen's Big Data + Panel technology which includes measurement of smart-TV audiences, won backing from the Media Rating Council before the upfront

Nielsen has received accreditation for its Big Data + Panel national TV measurement from the Media Rating Council (MRC), certifying its ability to combine first-party viewership data with its panel. Why it matters: The certification better positions Nielsen to accurately capture viewership for TV networks and advertisers after the rise of media fragmentation and streaming challenged its traditional methods.

The Media Rating Council approves the company's use of traditional panel sampling alongside input from millions more homes.

Nielsen will stop selling various ratings solutions that rely only on its panels measurement by the end of the year. This article, Nielsen to stop selling panels-only ratings data by Q4, was first published at The Desk.

Nielsen's Big Data + Panel National TV measurement has achieved MRC accreditation, combining high-quality panel data with insights from smart TVs and set-top boxes in over 45 million homes. This marks the first accredited hybrid panel/big-data product and is widely adopted for planning and cross-platform audience analysis,