The frustration with the industry’s lack of accurate viewer measurement metrics grew even louder this week, with network research chiefs dissing traditional number crunchers like Nielsen—right to Nielsen’s face.

A panel at the Media Insights & Engagement conference in San Diego moderated by Nielsen SVP of Global Digital Audience Measurement Eric Solomon saw one network rep after another lament the current state of measurement tools.

Turner Broadcasting Chief Research Officer called the whole situation “really sad,” according to Variety.

“I don’t think Nielsen or Comscore has approached this right. It’s another shame on us sitting here,” he said.

Nielsen’s Solomon agreed but argued that “it’s an incredibly complex problem, to give you one number across all these complex platforms.”

Of course, venting about Nielsen is nothing new for the TV industry, but the concerns about measurement have grown more urgent in a year that saw more viewers than ever shift from watching linear broadcasts.

Some networks are going so far as to ditch Nielsen altogether.

Then there are the streaming services such as Netflix, which are famously secretive about their own metrics. Netflix content boss Ted Sarandos has called ratings “irrelevant” to his business. Given the fact that millennial viewers value Netflix more than broadcast television, Sarandos’ opinion on the subject can hardly be ignored.

Not that the research firms are burying their heads in the sand.

Comscore announced plans last month to roll out a new metric that tracks viewership across all streaming devices.

Nielsen also announced plans to report (some) streaming numbers.

Read More: Variety

Brief Take: With viewers frequently opting for alternative viewing platforms, network frustration with the lack of accurate metrics is reaching a boiling point.

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