Nielsen and Sinclair Broadcast Group on Thursday announced a multiyear renewal agreement under which the media measurement giant will provide a comprehensive suite of metric services for all of Sinclair’s 191 local television stations and one regional cable news channel, in 89 markets, 22 regional sports network brands it received as part of the Fox-Disney deal last August, Sinclair Digital Television Networks, as well as its cable network Tennis Channel.
This agreement includes Ad Intel, Arianna, Grabix and Nielsen Scarborough, as well as Digital in TV ratings measurement in select markets and platforms.
“As Sinclair has acquired and diversified its portfolio of media platforms, Nielsen’s solutions continue to be utilized across these assets including local TV measurement solutions for regional sports networks and out-of-home services,” said Nielsen Local evp and managing director Catherine Herkovic. “We are proud to extend our longstanding alliance with Sinclair to power its strategic measurement initiatives that deliver bottom-line results relied upon by advertisers.”
This is the second multiyear renewal agreement Nielsen has signed with a major broadcaster in the past three months. It re-upped with Sinclair rival Nexstar Media Group in January.
In October, Nielsen announced that it had completed a major transformation of its local television business combining advanced meter technology, big data and people-powered panels into its Local TV measurement service.
This renewal agreement comes as an increasing number of Americans across nearly every demographic are watching television during the COVID-19 era. That includes local broadcast. Sinclair, which boasts a conservative-leaning news operation, will undoubtedly want to be cognizant of this audience growth, and Nielsen appears to be pleased to offer its audience measurement services to them.