Nielsen and Paramount have reached a new multiyear agreement, ending a contract dispute that had lasted several months. The deal allows Nielsen to continue providing ratings and analytics services across Paramount Global’s television and streaming platforms.
The dispute began in October 2024 when Paramount’s previous contract with Nielsen expired. During this period, Paramount stopped using Nielsen data and instead relied on ratings from VideoAmp for press releases and other reporting. Both companies issued public statements criticizing each other before ultimately reaching a resolution.
Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao, said, “We are thrilled to resume our partnership with Paramount, as their leaders continue to build one of the strongest brands in entertainment. 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, Paramount co-CEO, said, “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. Paramount Global’s ratings wins reported today are just one of many successes we look forward to with Nielsen as we build upon this new future together.”
As part of the new contract, Paramount has agreed to use additional Nielsen services, including the recently accredited “big data + panel” measurement, ad-supported streaming platform ratings, and expanded out-of-home ratings, which now cover the entire U.S. Previously, out-of-home ratings accounted for only about two-thirds of the country.
Throughout the dispute, Nielsen continued collecting data on Paramount’s properties, including CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and its cable networks. Nielsen’s announcement of the deal also highlighted recent ratings achievements for Paramount, such as the NFL’s AFC Championship game drawing 57.7 million viewers on CBS, the success of Tracker on the network, and the performance of Landman on Paramount+.