Paramount Global has dropped Nielsen, its main viewer measurement currency, due to soaring pricing demands, according to the company. Nielsen is the longtime third-party TV
data-measurement company that advertisers have counted on for decades to finalize their media schedules.
Paramount's contract with Nielsen expired Monday, September 30
at midnight.
“Nielsen has severed our long-standing measurement partnership with its unacceptable demands, including substantial price increases that are
inconsistent with the realities of a changing industry,” Paramount said in a statement.
“We have spent the last few years preparing for a
multi-currency future and creating the operational infrastructure to move beyond Nielsen. We are confident in the quality of our alternative currency offering for clients as we continue efforts to
reach a new Nielsen agreement with reasonable economic terms.”
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“We look forward to working with Paramount on a new agreement," according to a Nielsen
statement.
According to a memo to clients, John Halley, president of advertising for Paramount Global, says:
"Nielsen’s costs as a
percentage of Paramount ad revenue have quintupled over significant parts of our business over the last years; in certain instances, Nielsen's fees already exceed the total advertising revenue of the
network being measured. This has led us to conclude that the model, as proposed, is not workable, and that the cost structure requires re-engineering."
Paramount
has a current deal with VideoAmp to offer advertisers alternative viewership data. For the last four months it has been ramping up that company’s efforts for its advertiser clients in
anticipation of a possible Nielsen stalemate.
Halley: "If we ultimately reach an agreement, we anticipate being able to revert to Nielsen data for planning,
measurement and stewardship. If preferred, we can also transition guarantees to VideoAmp permanently."
In 2019, Paramount Global’s CBS Corp. went through a similar
dispute tied to pricing.
CBS dropped Nielsen over a similar dispute tied to pricing -- which affected CBS Television Network, CBS Television Distribution, Showtime
Networks, Smithsonian, Pop, CBS Sports Network and CBS’ 27 owned-and-operated local television stations.
CBS networks/platforms were without Nielsen measurement
for about 11 days.
Paramount Global has been in the process of being acquired by Skydance Media, an on-the-lot major TV and movie producer for Paramount. It is under pressure to cut
several hundred million dollars in costs.
The Skydance deal for Paramount is an all-stock transaction valued at $4.75 billion, creating a company with an enterprise value of $28
billion. A Skydance investor group will also invest $2.4 billion in cash to acquire Paramount Global's parent National Amusements.
This story has been updated.