Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 1,559	$ 1,563
Cost of revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	721	695
Selling, general and administrative expenses, exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown separately below	515	480
Depreciation and amortization	214	179
Restructuring charges	11	35
Operating income/(loss)	98	174
Interest income	1	2
Interest expense	(94)	(99)
Foreign currency exchange transaction gains/(losses), net	(6)	(3)
Other income/(expense), net	(1)	5
Income/(loss) from continuing operations before income taxes	(2)	79
Benefit/(provision) for income taxes	(11)	(32)
Net income/(loss)	(13)	47
Net income/(loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests	5	4
Net income/(loss) attributable to Nielsen shareholders	$ (18)	$ 43
Net income/(loss) per share of common stock, basic
Net income/(loss) attributable to Nielsen shareholders	$ (0.05)	$ 0.12
Net income/(loss) per share of common stock, diluted
Net income/(loss) attributable to Nielsen shareholders	$ (0.05)	$ 0.12
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, basic	356,389,022	355,444,756
Dilutive shares of common stock		912,327
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding, diluted	356,389,022	356,357,083
Dividends declared per common share	$ 0.06	$ 0.35