Nielsen to lose MRC accreditation in hiatus period for National Television Service

As announced by Nielsen, the MRC received a formal request from Nielsen to enter an MRC accreditation hiatus period for its National Television measurement service.  This request was made in advance of a previously scheduled meeting of the MRC’s Television Committee, where it was discussed in detail.   As a result of the discussions, the Television Committee has referred the matter and its recommendations to the full MRC Board of Directors for its consideration.  Therefore, a decision on Nielsen’s hiatus request has not been made, and a meeting of the MRC Board will be held in the coming days to consider the TV Committee’s position and to reach a conclusion on the accreditation status of the Nielsen National Television Service.

An accreditation hiatus status is a formal designation that an accredited service can request.  It is designed to exist for a temporary period of time to allow for the service to take certain actions or implement certain service improvements, but to do so outside of the normal MRC audit and accreditation process.  During this period, the service is not considered to be accredited by MRC.  A hiatus period may last for up to six months, and a service has an option to request a second six-month hiatus.  In no case can a hiatus period extend beyond 12 months; if the service does not re-engage in the MRC’s audit and accreditation process by the end of the hiatus period, accreditation of the service will be formally revoked.

“In accordance with a provision in MRC’s procedures, Nielsen has asked to step away from the MRC accreditation process and enter a temporary hiatus period,” said George W. Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC.  “However, in addition to those reasons for seeking a hiatus that Nielsen cited in its public statement on this matter, we are compelled to note that the National Television Service has also had some deep-rooted, ongoing performance issues that have threatened its accreditation, many of which pre-dated the well-documented COVID pandemic-related impacts to its panels. Because of the totality and the gravity of these issues, we believe the matter requires further consideration by the full MRC Board before a conclusion on the National Television Service’s accreditation status is reached. In addition, Nielsen was previously invited to a meeting of the MRC Television Committee scheduled for next week to address these matters directly with the Committee, and this invitation remains in place.”

In the months ahead, Nielsen will be making some significant methodology changes to its National panel processes, and MRC believes that regardless of its accreditation standing, Nielsen continues to have a responsibility to provide full transparency to both MRC and to Nielsen’s customers as these changes happen.  In addition, the continued threat to panel processes presented by COVID-related impacts remains real, and Nielsen maintains a responsibility to keep MRC and its clients fully informed about any related process changes and impacts that may occur as a result.