Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 shares
Document Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	NLSNNV
Entity Registrant Name	Nielsen Holdings plc
Entity Central Index Key	0001492633
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	356,168,000