Trend Details

iSpot and Other Measurement Upstarts Challenge Dominance of TV Metrics Measurement Firm Nielsen

An unexpected move on the day of the 58th Super Bowl has resulted in a challenge for Nielsen’s throne, as rivals like iSpot eye the millions of dollars companies pay the dominant TV metrics measurement firm. By: Kritchanon Tan Kian Wei.

US - American information, data and market management firm Nielsen is facing more competition from its rivals, after iSpot issued “preliminary audience measurement estimates” for viewership during the Super Bowl LVIII hours before Nielsen did, in an effort to attract business from Nielsen’s top clients.

iSpot released their Super Bowl LVIII projection of over 126.6 million viewers across TV, linear, streaming and out of home watching in the early afternoon, before the Big Game, whilst the top data management firm only released their estimate of 123,4 million viewers well into the evening.

In the media industry, giants like The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount pay Nielsen lots of money to acquire metrics and insights on their viewers, so as to better appeal to advertisers. This has attracted lots of interest from Nielsen’s rivals, like iSpot.

Stuart Schwartzapfel, senior vice president of iSpot’s media partnerships, explained that their decision to publish their Super Bowl viewing projections before Nielsen was very much intentional, saying: “We wanted to prove that we could provide accurate and consistent overnights in a rapid fashion, and that’s the time we were able to do it in.”

The annual Super Bowl is consistently one of the most-watched events in the year, with the 2024 Super Bowl becoming the most watched television event in history, making the sports game an extremely attractive opportunity for advertisers. During the event, a 30 second ad spot typically goes for around $7 million. The 59th Super Bowl is currently scheduled to be played on February 9 2025.

To never miss a story — sign up for Viral Weekly free newsletter to stay up-to-date with compelling TV and Film news and views.

Back to Listing