The nation’s most-watched TV network is prepared to drop Nielsen’s measurement services if the two sides can’t come to an agreement by the end of this month, according to Variety citing a person familiar with the matter. CBS’ current contract with Nielsen – valued at more than $100 million a year — expires at year’s end.
CBS senior executives have informed CBS O&O stations and various other business units to prepare in case a deal with Nielsen cannot be reached, this person said. Chances of a breakdown are “not remote,” this person said. CBS is seeking “a competitive rate” from Nielsen given that there are more measurement alternatives available for a marketplace that has moved well past the linear TV ratings that Nielsen has delivered for decades.
A CBS spokesperson declined to comment. A Nielsen rep indicated that CBS’ threat to drop the service was posturing amid tough contract talks.
“We expect to arrive at a mutually beneficial agreement well in advance of Dec. 31,” a Nielsen spokesman said.At issue is a long-running complaint from TV networks that Nielsen isn’t measuring the many different audiences for their programming as well as it should. As smartphones, mobile tablets and broadband-connected TV’s gain more consumer acceptance, audiences are increasingly able to stream their TV favorites in on-demand fashion, making the task of counting them exponentially more difficult. TV networks have long based their advertising rates on Nielsen’s measure of linear TV audiences, which have slipped as consumers embraced Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and other streaming and on-demand options.
In this environment, TV networks believe Nielsen’s overnight ratings are no longer as reliable a barometer of viewership as they once were.
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