Wrestling shows impacted by Nielsen’s new method of measuring ratings

Nielsen is changing how television ratings are measured, moving from its long-standing panel-only system to a new Big Data + Panel methodology.

Previously, ratings were based on a representative sample of “Nielsen households.” Now, the new approach combines that panel data with massive device-level data from set-top boxes and smart TVs. The Media Rating Council has accredited this system, which Nielsen says will make ratings more accurate.

The panel-only method will be phased out in the final months of 2025, meaning comparisons between old and new ratings will be more complicated. Starting now, most TV ratings will come from Big Data + Panel rather than the older methodology.

So far, the change has resulted in mostly lower ratings for wrestling televisions shows than had been reported under the previous panel-only method of measurement. Using Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel system, this week’s WWE NXT averaged 572,000 viewers on The CW, down 19% from last week and the lowest since August 2024. The show scored a 0.10 rating in 18–49, down 41% and tied for its second-lowest ever. Under the old method, the demo would have been a 0.16, showing a smaller decline.

Wrestlenomics.com provided the following chart…