In the fall of 2013 and with the support of our clients, Nielsen expanded the definition of a TV Household in its National measurement to include homes that had a broadband connection to a TV set (BBO HHs). Since that time, including today, our National measurement includes Broadband Only households. At the time that BBO HHs were added to our measurement, they were included in our Cable Plus Universe Estimates. In April of 2015, again at the request of our clients, Nielsen removed BBO homes from Cable Plus Universe Estimates and placed them in their own category so that our clients could better understand the growth of these homes and have a cleaner trend of cable penetration over time. The Cable Plus Universe Estimate reverted back to its original definition. At each point, we ensured that key stakeholders including our clients and investors were well prepared by communicating these changes through multiple touchpoints including individual and group meetings, webinars and standard communications. In January of this year we reminded users of our data about this Cable Plus Universe Estimate change and provided side by side data to help facilitate the most appropriate year-over-year comparisons. The data we provided was neither a correction nor a restatement; it was a tool to facilitate apples-to-apples comparisons of data. We took this step at the request of clients. As a matter of course, we work closely with our clients and the industry to answer questions and to ensure that appropriate figures are utilized in analyses of our data.
Contact:
Ben Billingsley: +1 646-654-5429: Ben.Billingsley@nielsen.com
