SAG-AFTRA Will Use Nielsen Streaming Data To Enforce New Contract Terms

Jon Lafayette
·1 min read
SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland pickets during 2023 actors strike.
SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland pickets during 2023 actors strike.

Nielsen said that actors’ union SAG-AFTRA has selected Nielsen as its third-party provider of streaming content measurement.

The union needs the data because its new contract calls for members to get additional pay based on the success of streaming shows.

“New business models require new tools, and that’s why we’ve enlisted Nielsen,” SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said. “The information they provide will give us the means to cross-check the data streamers give us and ensure employers are fulfilling their contractual obligations to our members.”

Nielsen’s data will complement first-party data from streaming platforms and serve as a consistent and comparable lens through which the performance of streaming titles across various distribution platforms can be analyzed.

“The rapid evolution of the media landscape and audience behaviors over the past decade has not only affected how content is consumed and measured, but also greatly impacts the financial models on which the entertainment industry operates,” Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said. “We are incredibly proud that SAG-AFTRA has chosen Nielsen as the source for objective and consistent audience measurement insights in the streaming space.”