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Nielsen To Discontinue Puerto Rico Radio & TV Ratings

Y2kTheNewOldies

Y2kTheNewOldies

www.insideradio.com

Nielsen To Discontinue Puerto Rico Radio & TV Ratings.

Nielsen plans to discontinue measuring radio and TV audiences in the Puerto Rico market (#17) in December 2026. That means the island of 3.2 million people will no longer have
www.insideradio.com www.insideradio.com

Note this takes into effect in December.

Nielsen plans to discontinue measuring radio and TV audiences in the Puerto Rico market in December 2026. That means the island of 3.2 million people will no longer have a currency to buy and sell broadcast media on.

In a statement provided to Inside Radio, a Nielsen rep said that exiting the market was a difficult decision. “As a global organization, we must continuously evaluate how we deploy our resources across all regions,” it said.

The statement continues: “For over 15 years, we have had the privilege of working with our clients, and we are deeply grateful to them, our local team, partners, and the broader industry community for their commitment. As we carry out this transition, we are fully committed to doing so with care and responsibility—ensuring that the interests of the industry remain supported. We will work alongside local stakeholders throughout this process to facilitate a thoughtful and orderly handover.”
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It will be interesting to see if anyone else (ie. Eastlan) steps into the void in radio measurement.
Puerto Rico obviously comes with numerous challenges that are unique to the island. Prior to Arbitron's arrival in 1998, the San Juan metro area was measured (not the entire island) by Asesores, a local research company. And prior to Asesores' 10+ year run (ending in 1999), Birch, Strategic Resources, Mediastat and Pulse all tried their hands at surveying San Juan, each generally only lasting three to four years before pulling out.
 
I was struck by the following paragraph in the article:

"Of chief concern is whether buying radio and TV will become more difficult for advertisers and agencies in the market, according to
Hispanic.com.
“If Puerto Rico’s media industry cannot provide comparable and independently validated audience information, some advertisers may not redirect their budgets to another local media company. They may move the money out of Puerto Rico media entirely.”"

I have to assume that the advertisers referred to here are national advertisers like Coke and Pepsi. I can see no reason why, unless they had some sort of international presence, local advertisers would leave the island for advertising in the states or elsewhere.
 
Smaller cities and rural areas in the mainland U.S. don't have any rating service anymore either. The list of rated markets is a lot smaller than it used to be, and rural counties that are outside of any metropolitan area have nothing now.
 
NoWayNoCC said:
Smaller cities and rural areas in the mainland U.S. don't have any rating service anymore either.
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Puerto Rico is a bit unusual in that it is a Top 20 market being dropped. The only other Top 100 market to be dropped by Nielsen this century is Greenville-New Bern, NC, which was Market #99.
 


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