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By Michaela Gordoni
Data company Nielsen will use its latest metric tool to measure the Super Bowl’s live crowds — wherever they are.
The tool will require Nielsen panelists to don wearable devices that capture audio from content that’s being watched, Variety reported.
The company believes this will more accurately reflect audiences engaged in “co-viewing” with others. This is supposed to help Nielsen get a better idea of how many people are watching.
“Nielsen’s mission is to constantly push measurement forward and deliver the most accurate data ever. This co-viewing pilot builds on that mission, alongside our recent enhancements with Big Data + Panel, out of home expansion, live streaming measurement and our wearable devices,” said Karthik Rao, Nielsen’s CEO.
“Our clients produce live TV events that get the world watching. It’s our job to make sure we are accurately counting the audiences they meticulously build,” he said.
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Nielsen will roll out the tech on Feb. 8 and will continue to use it through high-profile live events through mid-2026.
A couple years ago, the NFL revealed that Nielsen had made errors in its count of the 2023 Super Bowl. It had undercounted the total audience by two million.
And in 2020, several Fox, Walt Disney Co., Paramount Skydance and other conglomerates were upset that Nielsen shelved a new way of counting out-of-home viewing that was expected to count more viewers for sports and news. It’s since reversed that decision.
In 2017, ESPN offered a total live audience number that counted linear and streaming views, as well as out-of-home crowds.
“We’re optimistic about this, and believe we’re going to learn a lot from what they’re doing,” NFL chief data and analytics officer Paul Ballew told Front Office Sports. “I have to give Nielsen credit. We’ve pushed them really hard about this.”
“It’s been an issue for us for some time now, and has been frustrating. But they’ve listened and come up with ideas to address the issue,” he said.
Last year’s Super Bowl had 127.7 million viewers, which broke a U.S. television audience record. This year is expected to set records, too. Experts estimate viewership to reach 130 million.
After Nielsen reveals traditional TV viewership numbers, it will reveal the new data a few weeks later. TV networks will share the findings at their discretion. Since the data will initially only be revealed to Neilsen’s private clients, TV networks, users won’t see the numbers in its Big Data + Panel ratings report for the Super Bowl, TV News Check notes.
Nilsen says this co-viewing enhancement is the first phase of its new counting strategy, and more enhancements will come after 2026.
Read Next: Why This Update Will Make Nielsen Data Even More Accurate
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