Behind Billions of Lost TV Impressions (Updated)

Earlier this year, Nielsen’s self-admitted undercount of out-of-home TV viewership was widely reported.

Because of our commitment to transparency, VAB, in partnership with the Measurement Innovation Task Force, quantified the scope of that undercount. This analysis was done based upon the data available at the time. Recently, the data for the full 16 months of the period in question was made available and so we are now sharing with you the complete impact of this undercount.

During the period where the reporting error was made (September ‘20 – December ‘21), 54 billion national TV ad impressions were not counted, equating to over $690 million of ads that could not be bought or sold. As in our initial piece, you can see details on the particular programming and demographic groups that were most impacted.

We continue to work on behalf of our members and marketers to move our industry towards a more transparent, business-building future of measurement.