Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,526	$ 1,487
Cost of revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	661	641
Selling, general and administrative expenses, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	471	465
Depreciation and amortization	155	147
Restructuring charges	32	10
Operating income	207	224
Interest income	1	1
Interest expense	(90)	(79)
Foreign currency exchange transaction losses, net	(2)	(1)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	116	145
Provision for income taxes	(43)	(44)
Net income	73	101
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2	1
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 71	$ 100
Net income per share of common stock, basic
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.20	$ 0.28
Net income per share of common stock, diluted
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.20	$ 0.27
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic	357,399,749	361,580,670
Dilutive shares of common stock	1,655,219	3,620,469
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, diluted	359,054,968	365,201,139
Dividends declared per common share	$ 0.31	$ 0.28