Nielsen has reportedly signed a landmark multiyear agreement with the WNBA and NBA to provide official viewership measurement across linear television and streaming platforms. Such a deal would be the largest commercial measurement agreement the firm has reached with a women’s sports league.
Previously, the WNBA relied on viewership data provided through media partners or the NBA. With this new arrangement, the league will gain full access to its own Nielsen ratings, offering advertisers and stakeholders greater visibility into its audience performance across platforms.
The partnership, finalized last quarter per Axios, reflects growing momentum in women’s sports rights, following the WNBA’s 11-year, $200 million per year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime, and NBC, roughly four times the value of its previous agreement.
Although the WNBA and NBA declined to comment on the Nielsen partnership, sources say the move underscores the strategic value of direct measurement relationships. Traditionally, sports leagues have paid to establish their own Nielsen agreements rather than rely on distributors to share ratings, allowing leagues to independently verify and control access to viewership data.
This model is already standard among major U.S. leagues, including the NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, NCAA, UFC, WWE, PGA, and Premier League, all of which have direct Nielsen deals.
The expanded deal also comes amid industry shifts toward new measurement providers such as VideoAmp and iSpot.tv, spurred by the rise of streaming and pandemic-era disruptions. While some programmers have publicly tested alternatives, league partners continue to prioritize Nielsen’s more granular, demographic-rich datasets. For instance, during its contract lapse with Nielsen, Paramount withheld ratings from competing vendors for its NFL broadcasts.
