CBS’s $120 Million Fight With Nielsen Tests Moonves’ Interim Replacement

  • Tiffany network says Comscore is fine option for its stations
  • But national advertisers dependent on Nielsen may hold the key
Les Moonves and Joe Ianniello in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 8, 2015.Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
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CBS Corp.’s contract fight with Nielsen Holdings Plc has created a scenario that would have been unimaginable until recently: The TV network with the highest viewership last season no longer has access to the most-widely used metric for measuring audiences.

The contract between the companies expired Dec. 31, leaving CBS without Nielsen viewer data that’s used to set advertising rates. The New York-based broadcaster’s acting chief executive officer is trying to get a better deal from the research firm, which collects more than $120 million annually from CBS.