Paramount Agrees New Nielsen Deal

Nielsen has reached an agreement for audience measurement with Paramount Global, ending a four-month stand-off. The new multi-year deal includes measurement for all the media firm's national and local broadcast, cable networks and streaming on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

In addition to the two streaming brands, Paramount's portfolio includes CBS, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET. At the < 37319>end of September, the broadcaster told staff it had not yet reached a deal to extend measurement, with the parties reportedly 'far apart on pricing'. According to Variety, John Halley, President of Paramount ad sales said in a letter at the time that Nielsen was 'insisting on substantial price increases across all their products' and that in some instances its fees 'already exceed the total advertising revenue of the network being measured'. Despite concluding that 'the cost structure requires re-engineering', Halley said that 'Disengaging from Nielsen is not our first choice, and we remain hopeful for a resolution'. The group has reportedly been using data from VideoAmp in the interim.

The new deal, effective immediately, includes licences for Advanced Audiences, Big Data + Panel, Ad-Supported Streaming Platform Ratings, Nielsen ONE Ads for Connected Television, and National out-of-home expansion, and will inform Paramount's advertising, programming and licensing strategies.

Announcing the deal Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said the firm was 'thrilled to resume the partnership', adding, 'Our trusted data shows how Paramount's content and advertising strategy is thriving across every platform, across all ages and demos. As Paramount continues its evolution into a next-generation media company, we're proud to play a critical role and know this deal will be a win for everyone: Nielsen, Paramount and all of our joint advertising partners'.

George Cheeks, President and CEO of CBS and Co-CEO of Paramount Global stated: 'Paramount and Nielsen are committed to addressing Television's multiplatform future to the benefit of all of our stakeholders. Karthik and his team continue to meet the needs of our marketplace across all our platforms, and we are incredibly pleased to reinforce and reinvigorate our deal with our longtime partner'.

Among the ratings milestones reported for Paramount today were an all-time record for the AFC, set by CBS' broadcast of the Championship Game on January 26th with 57.7m viewers; the highest rated NFL game in the November interval (27.5m viewers); and 'total viewing time by Americans of CBS dramas across the fourth quarter of 2024 topping 50 trillion viewing minutes' [I make this around 2,500 hours each for every man, woman and child in the US during 3 months, or 2,184 hours, so I must be misunderstanding something... apologies if so - Ed.]

Web sites: www.paramount.com and www.nielsen.com .