The viewership for streaming keeps growing and growing — or does it?

The next edition of “The Gauge,” a monthly snapshot from Nielsen that purports to examine all broadcast, cable and streaming consumption that occurs through a television screen, will be delayed by a week or after Nielsen revealed to clients that the research was likely to reveal a downturn in streaming audiences. That dynamic spurred some handwringing among many of the new-tech companies, according to three people familiar with the matter, that have seen their fortunes soar as they reel in scads of new broadband viewers.

At issue, says Nielsen, is the implementation earlier this year of new data that shows how U.S. households connect to and consume TV, use video-capable digital devices, and interact with and share streaming media and ecommerce accounts. The research, known as DASH, is a syndicated study fielded in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, a polling firm. Nielsen had previously informed clients that its use of the data could result in a one-time expansion of the number of households, or “universe,” watching cable and broadcast TV, and a potential diminution of the overall audience watching streaming.

“When we began our standard monthly Gauge previews with clients this week, some clients requested additional data around DASH implementation. We will be providing them with that information,” Nielsen said in a statement provided to Variety. As a result, we are delaying the release of The Gauge one week to coincide with The Media Distributor Gauge release on March 24. We believe this will enable a smoother transition and give clients and the industry a better holistic view of February viewing.”

Nielsen’s Gauge has become a new highlight of the industry’s never-ending battle to count up audiences who have splintered across dozens of screens and different viewing behaviors. But the behind-the-scenes push and pull over the next release shows Nielsen having to cater to a new generation of customers — companies like Amazon, Roku and Netflix — that can be just as challenging as traditional clients like CBS, Fox and NBC.

The next Gauge was expected to reveal a lift for cable and broadcast viewing, driven in part by the new DASH data but also by attention being paid in recent weeks to the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl, both telecast and streamed via NBC and Peacock. That rise in traditional TV is not expected to continue over the longer term, according to Nielsen, but streaming’s expansion is.

Nielsen says it informed all clients of the expected tweaks in multiple ways. “”The ARF’s DASH universe estimates are accredited by the Media Rating Council. The MRC TV Committee, made up of more than 80 Nielsen clients, overwhelmingly drove Nielsen’s swift adoption of DASH,” Nielsen said. “Over the course of several months, we communicated this change to our clients through product notifications, webinars and MRC meetings before it was implemented at the end of January. We believe that this change more accurately reflects the TV landscape.”

The streaming companies may have started to buffer over the new Gauge results because they are growing more dependent on ad dollars — just like their more traditional rivals. Amazon has become an increasingly aggressive player during TV’s “Upfront Week,” and with good reason. The company’s decision to make ad-supported Prime Video the de facto level of service to subscribers means the digital giant has tons of commercial inventory to sell. Netflix, with executives who once swore they would never run advertising on the company’s popular streaming service, now offers an ad-supported tier, and has been increasingly willing to allow different advertisers to create bespoke commercials and promotions around some of its most popular programs.

Despite the rise of a host of new measurement rivals in recent years, Nielsen’s tabulations remain the bedrock element of ad sales in the U.S. TV industry. The more people between the ages of 18 and 49 oir 25 and 54 who watch a particular program, the more the company showing the series can charge would-be sponsors.

Many things about the TV business are changing, but, as this most recent industry debate shows, Nielsen’s place in it isn’t yet one of them.