Paramount’s TV Ratings Partnership with Nielsen Ends Due to Cost Dispute

The TV ratings contract between Paramount and Nielsen expired Monday without a new deal, just hours before the 2024 Vice Presidential Debate moderated by CBS.

Paramount did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. But a company spokesperson said in a statement: “Nielsen terminated our long-standing measurement partnership with unacceptable demands, including significant price increases that were inconsistent with the realities of a changing industry. We have spent the last several years preparing for a multi-currency future and moving beyond Nielsen.” “As we continue our efforts to reach a new Nielsen agreement on reasonable economic terms, we are confident in the quality of our alternative currency offering to our customers.”

Nielsen declined to comment for this article. But a person with knowledge of the situation disputed Paramount’s characterization of the price dispute, noting that ratings data was used to determine not only advertising rates but also carriage fees and other revenue sources.

It is not yet known when negotiations for the new contract will continue. But in a letter to Paramount’s media customers, Paramount advertising president John Halley confirmed that the company “will use VideoAmp solely for planning, reporting and management” until a new agreement is reached with Nielsen.

A Nielsen spokesperson told TheWrap: last week He stated that he hopes to reach a new agreement and continue the partnership with Paramount, emphasizing that even if a new agreement is not reached by the deadline, he will continue to have full access to the data of all his other customers and the industry in general.

The split comes just hours before the Vice Presidential debate between Democratic candidate Tim Walz and Republican J.D. Vance, which airs live on Tuesday night from 6pm to 7:30pm Pacific. The matchup will be anchored by CBS News but will be simulcast on other networks including ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN and MSNBC.

Advertisers rely heavily on the firm’s data, including Streaming Top 10 and The Gauge, to help determine ad spend as viewers shift from linear TV to streaming; however, as this transition continues, the scope of these data currently remains limited. Over the past six months, the firm has launched new capabilities to expand measurement data around trackers and out-of-home monitoring.