TV Networks Demand Nielsen Submit to Audit in Battle Over Coronavirus Audience Counts
Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCBS, ABC, NBC and other TV networks want the company that audits their audiences every day to submit to an audit of its own.The VAB, an industry group that represents the TV networks to Madison Avenue, is demanding that Nielsen, the arbiter of TV ratings, submit to a third-party audit from Ernst and Young, the latest salvo in a battle between to the two sides over how TV audiences were counted during the coronavirus pandemic. The networks allege Nielsen let its system, which is the bedrock of advertising deals for TV programs, degrade as the nation went into lockdown, and undercounted TV viewership.