Nielsen Says Slow Economy Required RIFs

Amid the massive changes that are expected to come in media measurement, and a slowing economy, MediaPost reports Nielsen has confirmed an undisclosed level of global layoffs.

A Nielsen spokesperson, in an email to Television News Daily, said “the total headcount after this reorganization will be roughly in line with where it was a year ago.” According to one report by Axios, from a copy of a company memo, Nielsen cited economic conditions as the reason for the move

The news of layoffs comes after more than a year in which TV networks aligned with major media agency groups have been testing new alternative measurement efforts when it comes to calculating viewing/usage of TV and/or cross media platforms.

In October 2022, Nielsen Holdings closed sale, an all-cash transaction of $16 billion, including the assumption of debt, to a private equity consortium led by Evergreen Coast Capital/Brookfield Business Partners.

Three senior Audio division executives are among scores of layoffs at Nielsen:

• Bill Rose, 42-Year Marketing And Customer Solutions Vet Rose managed the client organizations that received customer feedback, including the Audio Advisory Council. 
• Bruce Supovitz led the division at Nielsen Audio responsible for the client needs of radio networks, radio producers, radio syndicators, SXM Media (SXM/Pandora/Stitcher), podcasters and other national audio client segments.
• David Chipman has been Senior VP, Sales Director for Nielsen Audio’s Western Division since 2014 overseeing a team of eight account execs that sell the company’s radio ratings service, software and custom research solutions for 97 radio metros

Kenny

In a memo to employees obtained by Inside Radio, CEO David Kenny called the RIF a “painful business decision.” Last year, Nielsen hired more workers than in recent history “to keep pace with the higher-than-normal attrition rates in the first half of the year and for a number of product and international expansion opportunities,” Kenny explained. Since August attrition has dropped “significantly,” Kenny said as the economy deteriorated. 

“As we finalized our 2023 operating plan, we also needed to align our investments with the highest potential services and countries. Nothing we do will get in the way of our prioritization of measurement quality or our focus on innovation, which are the cornerstones of our brand,” he added.