Will Nielsen Streaming Data Change the Future of Television?

Nielsen Media, the an information and measurement company best known for TV ratings, has enjoyed a cozy relationship with newer Internet services over the last few years. But a few services like Netflix and Hulu have escaped independent monitoring. Now, under a new initiative, Nielsen will be analyzing streaming data without the cooperation of the streaming providers.

This isn’t the first time Nielsen has paid attention to video-streaming services. In 2013, the company added tracking to the software used in sample homes that tracked time spent on streaming services, but not content viewed.