Paramount And Nielsen Hit Contract Impasse As CBS News Gets Set To Host Vice Presidential Debate

deadline.com:

Paramount Global and Nielsen have hit a contract impasse as CBS News gets set to host the vice presidential debate Tuesday night.

As of 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, no contract was in place between the companies, with Paramount referring advertisers to numbers supplied by VideoAmp, one of several Nielsen challengers in the marketplace.

The roots of the dispute will be familiar to anyone who has had any proximity to the TV business in recent decades. In essence, Paramount believes Nielsen is charging too much for its ratings services, which have come under fire in recent years as the media environment has grown more complex.

Nielsen itself has admitted to undercounting viewership in the past but has affirmed that its methods are suitable to the current blended era of streaming and linear viewing.