Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,570	$ 1,531	$ 4,653	$ 4,548
Cost of revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	642	615	1,937	1,885
Selling, general and administrative expenses, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	452	459	1,391	1,405
Depreciation and amortization	151	144	450	432
Restructuring charges	29	15	73	43
Operating income	296	298	802	783
Interest income	1	1	3	3
Interest expense	(85)	(79)	(247)	(231)
Foreign currency exchange transaction gains/(losses), net	2	5	(3)	(27)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net loss of affiliates	214	225	555	528
Provision for income taxes	(82)	(82)	(208)	(206)
Equity in net loss of affiliates		(1)		(1)
Net income	132	142	347	321
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2		4	2
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 130	$ 142	$ 343	$ 319
Net income per share of common stock, basic
Income from continuing operations	$ 0.36	$ 0.39	$ 0.95	$ 0.87
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	0.36	0.39	0.95	0.87
Net income per share of common stock, diluted
Income from continuing operations	0.36	0.38	0.94	0.86
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.36	$ 0.38	$ 0.94	$ 0.86
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic	357,088,498	365,498,696	359,303,099	368,323,542
Dilutive shares of common stock	3,486,309	3,999,243	3,686,397	4,135,995
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, diluted	360,574,807	369,497,939	362,989,496	372,459,537
Dividends declared per common share	$ 0.31	$ 0.28	$ 0.90	$ 0.81