CNBC Drops Nielsen Ratings

CNBC is the first network to op-out of Nielsen ratings according to the Wall Street Journal.

CNBC is switching to Cogent Reports to measure its ratings because Nielsen is failing to track “out of home” viewing locations such as offices.

According to the report, Nielsen “has faced criticism from media companies that it has been slow to adapt its traditional ratings to changing media consumption habits.”

The change comes amid falling ratings as CNBC’s daytime audience has declined from an average of 214,000 viewers in 2004 to 177,000 in 2014 according to Nielsen data.

The report noted that the “CNBC arrangement marks the first time Cogent Reports, a unit of Market Strategies International, will be measuring the audience of a TV network. Cogent ratings will be used starting in the fourth quarter of 2015. The company will survey over 1,000 investors and financial advisers on their media habits during the day and use that data to provide ratings for CNBC.”