Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,644	$ 1,596	$ 3,170	$ 3,083
Cost of revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	678	654	1,339	1,295
Selling, general and administrative expenses, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	471	474	942	939
Depreciation and amortization	162	152	317	299
Restructuring charges	9	34	41	44
Operating income	324	282	531	506
Interest income	1	1	2	2
Interest expense	(92)	(83)	(182)	(162)
Foreign currency exchange transaction losses, net	(7)	(4)	(9)	(5)
Other expense, net	(2)		(2)
Income from continuing operations before income taxes	224	196	340	341
Provision for income taxes	(91)	(82)	(134)	(126)
Net income	133	114	206	215
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2	1	4	2
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 131	$ 113	$ 202	$ 213
Net income per share of common stock, basic
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.37	$ 0.31	$ 0.57	$ 0.59
Net income per share of common stock, diluted
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.37	$ 0.31	$ 0.56	$ 0.58
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic	356,829,766	359,264,465	357,113,183	360,422,568
Dilutive shares of common stock	1,255,301	3,952,412	1,455,260	3,786,441
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, diluted	358,085,067	363,216,877	358,568,443	364,209,009
Dividends declared per common share	$ 0.34	$ 0.31	$ 0.65	$ 0.59