[20 / 6 / 1]
>Why Did Ratings Go Up This Week?
Nielsen changed the number they multiply against.
>Every TV rating is a multiplication problem. Nielsen’s panel tracks what percentage of homes are watching a show. Then they multiply that percentage against the total number of homes that have cable TV. That total is called the “universe estimate.”
>On January 26, Nielsen adopted new data from an independent study that said the cable universe was bigger than Nielsen thought. More cable homes in the equation means every cable show’s ratings go up, even if the exact same people are watching the exact same shows.
>That is what happened. The multiplier got bigger.
>Does This Mean More People Are Watching?
>No. The same people are watching the same shows. The system was just undercounting how many homes had cable. When you fix the denominator, the math produces bigger numbers. Nobody new turned on their TV.
>What About the 18-49 Demo?
>This is the important part, and the answer is not good.
>The 18-49 demographic is what advertisers pay premium prices for. It is the number that determines what a TV show is worth to its network. It is the number that AEW and WWE negotiate rights deals against.
>The DASH correction barely moved it.
>AEW Dynamite gained roughly 146,000 viewers over 50, but only about 15,000 in 18-49. NXT gained about 60,000 over 50 and only 6,000 in 18-49. The total viewer number looks much better. The number that actually determines how much the show is worth to TBS or USA Network is nearly unchanged.
https://wrestlejoy.com/2026/02/nielsen-changed-the-ratings-again-with-the-addition-of-arf-dash/
tl;dr it was just Nielsen fucking around again. Also AEW is the #1 wrestling promotion of grandparents everywhere.
Nielsen changed the number they multiply against.
>Every TV rating is a multiplication problem. Nielsen’s panel tracks what percentage of homes are watching a show. Then they multiply that percentage against the total number of homes that have cable TV. That total is called the “universe estimate.”
>On January 26, Nielsen adopted new data from an independent study that said the cable universe was bigger than Nielsen thought. More cable homes in the equation means every cable show’s ratings go up, even if the exact same people are watching the exact same shows.
>That is what happened. The multiplier got bigger.
>Does This Mean More People Are Watching?
>No. The same people are watching the same shows. The system was just undercounting how many homes had cable. When you fix the denominator, the math produces bigger numbers. Nobody new turned on their TV.
>What About the 18-49 Demo?
>This is the important part, and the answer is not good.
>The 18-49 demographic is what advertisers pay premium prices for. It is the number that determines what a TV show is worth to its network. It is the number that AEW and WWE negotiate rights deals against.
>The DASH correction barely moved it.
>AEW Dynamite gained roughly 146,000 viewers over 50, but only about 15,000 in 18-49. NXT gained about 60,000 over 50 and only 6,000 in 18-49. The total viewer number looks much better. The number that actually determines how much the show is worth to TBS or USA Network is nearly unchanged.
https://wrestlejoy.com/2026/02/nielsen-changed-the-ratings-again-with-the-addition-of-arf-dash/
tl;dr it was just Nielsen fucking around again. Also AEW is the #1 wrestling promotion of grandparents everywhere.
