Nielsen to shut down SuperData

Nielsen has announced that it is shutting down SuperData, its games market research division.

Nielsen announced the closure to its clients and staff before confirming it to SBJ. Nielsen said that it will direct its focus to having its gaming services added as an additional feature to Nielsen Sports, instead of a separate entity.

“We have decided to wind down SuperData business operations,” said a Nielsen spokesperson to SBJ. “Our focus going forward will be to deliver games-related services and insights as added features and capabilities to core Nielsen Sports products and services.”

It is unclear exactly how many people were employed in the SuperData division, and how many will remain with Nielsen going forward.

When informed of the move, esports industry executives noted to SBJ that the gaming was a crowded market, and that esports hadn’t experienced the same level of growth as the rest of the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nielsen acquired SuperData back in 2018, with the intention of using SuperData to complement and strengthen” its Nielsen Games and Nielsen Esports divisions.