Entertainment
How Nielsen’s Measurement Fixes Aim to Smooth Over Gauge Contention
In March, Nielsen sparked an outcry from streamers when a change in methodology caused streaming numbers to fall. In response, it delayed its monthly Gauge viewership report, which just led to more frustration from the entire TV industry.
Now, the measurement firm is determined to get it right.
Among several shifts Nielsen will make to the way it measures TV viewing beginning Sept. 1 is fixing timing delays in the Advertising Research Foundation’s Device and Account Sharing survey, which Nielsen pulls for its monthly snapshot of the state of the TV industry.
Rather than pulling from survey data that had an 18-month delay, the company will now use more timely data, meaning the one-time adjustment — that will see streaming numbers decrease as cable goes up — won’t be as stark as streamers were worried about.
In fact, Nielsen told TheWrap the enhancements won’t change the overall trends reported in the Gauge once implemented in the September interval, which will display that one-time bump. Streaming is still expected to represent the largest share of TV, while broadcast and cable get slightly larger shares versus the current methodology.
The tweak puts to bed a controversy that’s been simmering over the last six months in the ratings world, hopefully quelling concerns from streamers and others that make up Nielsen’s client base that have been stewing. And beyond frustrated streamers, it marks another step towards more accurate ratings that fairly represent the ecosystem between streaming and linear platforms.
“Our objective is to make our data more accurate, and that means removing bias, and it means bringing us closer to the truth. [It] doesn’t always mean bigger numbers,” Nielsen SVP of product leadership Brian Fuhrer told TheWrap. “Our obligation is to the buy side and the sell side to report as accurate of data as we can.”
The fix to the data that fuels the Gauge is among several slight tweaks to the way Nielsen measures viewing, which also include using smart watch-like devices to count co-viewing as well as improving its weighting for its big data plus panel, which Nielsen rolled out last fall.
“We think all of these collectively are really an improvement in accuracy,” Fuhrer said. “These [adjustments] have been scrutinized very closely by the (Media Rating Council) and endorsed by the MRC, and they’ve urged us to get them into the marketplace.”
All of the shifts utilize the technology at Nielsen’s fingertips to more accurately depict viewing across the TV landscape, a space that has continued to be shaken up by streaming in a steep departure from overnight ratings that once reported TV viewing in one fell swoop. In fact, Fuhrer listed live streaming as the company’s next focus of expansion.
“We integrate first party data from companies like Amazon, Netflix, and hopefully in the near future additional companies as we measure their live streaming events as well,” Fuhrer said. “I think live streaming expansion is a really important one.”
As Nielsen doubles down on streaming partnerships, the company may also be speeding up how quickly it delivers its monthly streaming charts, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap, which operate on a month-long delay.
While Nielsen was once the only major voice in the ratings game, competitors like VideoAmp have been popping up and bolstering themselves with partnerships with streamers like Netflix. As Nielsen shakes off any residual contention arising from the Gauge delays, the company said it is committed to maintaining its place as the most-trusted source of ratings data, and is not slowing down on delivering any changes to keep it as such.

“Obsession” makes strong streaming debut
After its major box office success, horror phenomenon “Obsession” garnered impressive streaming viewership after hitting Peacock on July 17. The Inde Navarrette-led movie tallied 456 million minutes in its opening weekend, ranking as the No. 2 streaming movie across all platforms during the week of July 13.
The only title that overtook “Obsession” was “Project Hail Mary,” which held onto the No. 1 spot on Nielsen’s streaming movies chart for the third consecutive week with 699 million minutes viewed.

WNBA scores ratings record
Sunday’s match between the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever — pitting rebounding machine Angel Reese against ace shooter Caitlin Clark — became the most-watched WNBA game ever on cable — across both regular-season and postseason — as it delivered 2.6 million viewers on ESPN. Viewership for the game, which peaked at 4 million viewers from 7:15-7:29 p.m. ET, was up 178% over last year’s ESPN regular season average.
The second game of the doubleheader, the Portland Fire-Phoenix Mercury matchup, averaged 1.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-Indiana regular-season WNBA game ever on ESPN. Through 25 games, the WNBA is averaging 1.4 million viewers on ESPN, up 16% over the comparable point last season.

“Anna Pigeon” makes waves for USA Network
“Anna Pigeon,” which follows the titular character escape city life by becoming a park ranger, debuted as cable’s highest-rated new scripted series premiere in 2026 in both total viewers with 2.3 million viewers, and demo viewers with 269,000 viewers ages 18-49 viewers across USA, E! and SYFY, according to Nielsen live-plus-three-day figures.
The debut also marked the highest-rated USA original scripted series premiere in nearly eight years, and kept growing beyond its first weekend as it tallied 6.6 million total viewers from Aug. 7 to Aug. 10.
ICYMI:
- “My Life With the Walter Boys” Season 3 climbed to the top of Netflix’s top TV list in its second week on the streamer
- The Season 3 finale of “House of the Dragon” saw a slight 2% downtick compared to the Season 3 premiere
- “Ted Lasso” returned to Apple TV with record-breaking ratings, ranking Season 4 as the biggest launch in the streamer’s history
>
Entertainment
Megyn Kelly Spends Nearly 6 Minutes Celebrating Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Exit
Megyn Kelly used a decent chunk of her podcast Thursday to rail against Meghan Markle and Prince Harry — and celebrate their highly publicized exit from the United States.
On Thursday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” the host went long on the royal couple’s announcement that they were pulling up stakes in California and heading back to the U.K. Kelly treated this as the most positive news of the year and spent nearly six minutes of her show celebrating their “self-deportations.”
“Two important self-deportations that can unite all of America. This is the first thing we’ve been able to agree upon in over a decade. Meghan and Harry are leaving,” Kelly said. “Praise Jesus! They’re going. Get back to the U.K. Go become somebody else’s problem. We are sick of you. We have enough weirdos, self-narcissistic, obsessed Americans already. The country’s full. It’s saturated. Go home, Harry. We never wanted you here to begin with … We all wanted William. No one wanted you. I don’t know how we got stuck with Meghan.”
Kelly added: “Anyway, we had safely ejected her to Canada. Then you came along, took her over to U.K. That was fine. It was a hot mess for you, but we were still living our beautiful lives. And now finally, she’s going back to the U.K., and we all know why. There’s many speculations out there about why, but I’ll tell you why. Because they can’t stand not being adored and famous and welcomed everywhere and getting the reservations they want and the attention they want. ‘We want privacy.’ We all know it’s a lie.”
Watch the full takedown below:
The BBC reported the royal relocation on Wednesday when it was revealed the couple’s children Archie and Lilibet had been enrolled in a British school.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to live outside of London and it’s unclear if the move would also lead to a reconciliation with the rest of the royal family.
“They’re going back to a place where they can feel special, and they can get reservations at any restaurant, and the tabloid attention will pick back up because it’s withered down to an arid dryness now, and they can’t stand it,” Kelly finished. “She can’t stand it, but he can’t stand it either. He’s just as petty and small as she is.”
>
movies
Amazon Leaks Jason Statham’s ‘Mutiny’ Movie On Prime; Buyers Fume
Amazon is in choppy waters after accidentally leaking Jason Statham‘s latest big-budget action pic Mutiny on its Prime Video service days before the movie is released in theaters.
Deadline understands that the movie was up for a matter of hours earlier this week after a mistake led to it being posted on Prime’s product detail page that typically shows trailers.
Some subscribers couldn’t believe what they were watching. For free. One posted to X: “I’m watching Jason Statham’s new movie Mutiny, streaming on Amazon for free right now. This has to be a huge mistake, right? My theater has showtimes starting this week!”
“Someone is getting fired over at Amazon. They uploaded Jason Statham’s new movie Mutiny on Prime a day before it hits theaters,” another user said.
Lionsgate is releasing the action thriller this weekend in U.S. theaters and is one of a number of buyers understood to be very unimpressed. According to multiple sources close to the project, the film is already being pirated in different territories. That’s a problem for Lionsgate and potentially an even bigger problem for international buyers, some of whom who aren’t releasing until later. We hear the film opened well in France and Middle East yesterday before the leak snafu came to light.
Those companies, like Lionsgate, have put millions into acquiring the film and marketing it. It’s a $50 million-plus net movie. Lionsgate is understood to have paid eight-figures for it. We hear that some cinema chains are also up in arms.
Now the question we’re hearing from those close to the movie is what Amazon, a Premium VOD partner on the pic, can or will do to make good.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” one fuming international buyer told us. “It’s a major f*ck-up. I’ve never been in this situation before. What’s clear is that this is a multimillion-dollar problem for Amazon and buyers will expect a check to be written to help resolve this.”
One person who worked on the project said: “What the hell? There are serious repercussions for distributors here.” Another overseas buyer simply told us: “Oh my god.”
We understand Lionsgate’s anti-piracy team is trying to mitigate the damage. Meanwhile, international buyers are trying to coordinate a formal message to Amazon.
Jean-François Richet directs Mutiny, in which Statham is framed for murdering his billionaire industrialist boss, leaving him on the run as he works to uncover an international conspiracy. Statham produces with Marc Butan.
This isn’t the first time a streamer has got into hot water for being lax over the safety of a movie. Netflix is currently being sued for $105 million after a hard drive of an unreleased Nicolas Cage movie, the World War II thriller Fortitude, was stolen from its office. The lawsuit faults Netflix for losing the copy, but the studio has denied responsibility for the loss, saying it was delivered “without proper industry-standard safeguards.”
Amazon, Lionsgate, reps for Statham and the film’s producers declined comment on the Mutiny leak.
>
Entertainment
Jennifer Passovoy Named Head of Unscripted Video at Pave
Jennifer Passovoy has been named a senior producer and head of unscripted video at Pave Studios, TheWrap has exclusively learned.
The five-time Emmy-winning producer previously worked for Paramount as a supervising producer, specifically working on the teams for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Ink Master.”
Starting Aug. 31, Passovoy will run a new vertical for Pave, focused on unscripted streaming series and celebrity content. She will report directly to Pave Studios founder and chief executive Max Cutler.
“Jennifer Passovoy’s work remains cemented in the human connections that she has been able to develop over her impressive career,” Cutler said in a Thursday statement. “At her core, Jennifer is a pop culture historian who understands a creator’s authentic voice while translating it into content that doesn’t just perform, but lasts.”
Previously, Passovoy worked as show lead on Pave productions “Khloé in Wonder Land” and “Horoscope Weekly: Astrology with Aliza Kelly.” At Paramount, she supported the show teams from casting and story development through to post production, specifically driving “Drag Race’s” highest-rated premiere in six years during her tenure.
“The best unscripted TV has always come down to finding people who are magnetic on camera and building a world around them. That talent is everywhere now, and most of it is coming up outside the traditional pipeline,” Passovoy shared. “Pave is built to move on that, and I look forward to applying my experience as a producer of hit unscripted TV shows to the creator economy, and working with celebrities and rising stars to tell great stories across platforms.”
Pave Studios is a media company that specializes in creator-led IP across video, audio, live experiences and more. Their vertical OpenMind produces the podcast “Khloé in Wonder Land.” Its Crime House vertical has become a leading home for premium true crime stories, and Rewind launched in 2026 around the popular history genre. The network also signed “Love on the Spectrum” star Connor Tomlinson to host one of their podcasts for the history vertical.
>
-
movies3 months agoSearch For Canadian TV Actor Stewart McLean Now Homicide Investigation
-
Fashion9 years agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Fashion9 years agoAccording to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Fashion9 years agoModel Jocelyn Chew’s Instagram is the best vacation you’ve ever had
-
Fashion9 years agoEmily Ratajkowski channels back-to-school style
-
Fashion9 years ago9 Celebrities who have spoken out about being photoshopped
-
Fashion9 years agoYour comprehensive guide to this fall’s biggest trends
-
Fashion9 years agoA photo diary of the nightlife scene from LA To Ibiza
