Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,600	$ 1,641	$ 4,857	$ 4,811
Cost of revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	681	692	2,098	2,031
Selling, general and administrative expenses, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	464	448	1,451	1,395
Depreciation and amortization	175	160	504	477
Restructuring charges	19	7	108	48
Operating income	261	334	696	860
Interest income	2	1	6	3
Interest expense	(99)	(95)	(295)	(277)
Foreign currency exchange transaction losses, net	(8)		(12)	(9)
Other income/(expense), net	1	2	(3)	5
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net loss of affiliates	157	242	392	582
Provision for income taxes	(59)	(92)	(142)	(226)
Equity in net loss of affiliates			(1)
Net income	98	150	249	356
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2	4	9	8
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 96	$ 146	$ 240	$ 348
Net income per share of common stock, basic
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.27	$ 0.41	$ 0.67	$ 0.98
Net income per share of common stock, diluted
Net income attributable to Nielsen stockholders	$ 0.27	$ 0.41	$ 0.67	$ 0.97
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic	354,993,315	356,426,891	355,737,081	356,881,905
Dilutive shares of common stock	568,389	1,265,224	661,438	1,391,915
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, diluted	355,561,704	357,692,115	356,398,519	358,273,820
Dividends declared per common share	$ 0.35	$ 0.34	$ 1.04	$ 0.99