JioHotstar partners with Nielsen for third-party ad measurement starting IPL

With IPL 2025 streaming behind a paywall (with limited hours of free viewing), JioHotstar aims to reassure advertisers by offering independent, real-time campaign performance data, a long-standing demand in the industry. Under the collaboration, Nielsen will establish a dedicated data pipeline to track ad effectiveness on JioHotstar, leveraging its audience analytics expertise and first-party data measurement tools.

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IPL is one of the most sought-after property for broadcasters and advertisers alike, with massive investments riding on the T20 format tournament. Between Viacom18 and DisneyStar – now merged into JioStar — the two have picked up the digital and TV rights of IPL for ₹23,757.5 crore and ₹23,575 crore, respectively for 2023-2027 cycle.

Moving beyond walled gardens

JioHotstar is expecting to book advertising worth over ₹3,000 crore from IPL this year, which is why the focus on transparency, said experts.

“This had to happen – though digital advertising is increasing rapidly, the lion’s share is being cornered by Meta and Google – other online apps/ OTTs hadn’t taken the measurement approach and seen its effect. This is a good start but again a walled garden approach like the big brothers,” said Partho Dasgupta, former CEO of BARC India and managing partner of Thoth Advisors.

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For years, digital advertising has been dominated by self-reported metrics from platforms like Meta, Google, and YouTube, leaving advertisers with limited independent verification. The JioHotstar-Nielsen partnership looks to disrupt that model, providing advertisers with an objective, third-party validation system.

“There is no comprehensive audience measurement system for digital in India, and advertisers have long demanded transparency,” said Ishan Chatterjee, chief business officer, sports revenue, SMB & creator, JioStar. “Through this association, we aim to redefine how advertising on OTT is measured, ensuring advertisers receive transparent, independently-validated insights to drive campaign effectiveness.”

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Under this agreement, Nielsen will deploy its advanced tools, including Nielsen ONE Ads (formerly Digital Ad Ratings – DAR), along with volumetric and reach analysis tools, to measure campaign effectiveness.

Advertisers will be able to track Impressions and Clicks (volumetric data)—available next day of the original telecast—as well as campaign reach and on-target audience (age, gender, geography), which will be available two days after the first streaming.

All insights will be accessible via the Nielsen One Ads dashboard, offering real-time tracking and campaign optimization.

“This is the first large-scale third-party validation for live sports advertising in India, and one of the first in Asia,” said Arnaud Frade, president (commercial), Asia, Nielsen. “Our collaboration with JioHotstar is a major step toward delivering independent, transparent, and robust measurement, something advertisers have been demanding for years.”

No direct price hikes, but stronger advertiser confidence

Despite offering independent ad validation, executives confirmed it won’t directly impact ad rates.

“Our focus is not on increasing pricing but on strengthening advertiser confidence,” Chatterjee said. “As brands see transparent data and measurable ROI, their spending will naturally grow, driving industry-wide ad revenue expansion.”

Will others follow?

The move is expected to push other broadcasters and digital platforms toward third-party verification.

“This isn’t just about JioHotstar—this is an industry-wide requirement,” said Frade. “Advertisers have been clamouring for independent, transparent measurement, and now that it’s here, we expect others to adopt similar verification models. Not because they are forced to, but because the market will eventually demand it.”

Beyond IPL: Future expansion plans

While IPL 2025 is the launch event for this initiative, JioHotstar and Nielsen confirmed the partnership is long-term, with plans to extend it to other sports and entertainment properties. The measurement system will cover mobile, tablet, web, and connected TV (CTV) platforms.

When asked about future cross-media measurement (integrating TV and digital ad data), JioHotstar executives remained non-committal.

“For now, we are focused on ensuring accurate digital ad measurement, but we acknowledge that a unified video measurement system is an eventual industry goal,” Chatterjee said.

Ensuring compliance with DPDP Act

With India preparing to have its own digital personal data protection (DPDP) law, JioHotstar and Nielsen assured that the new system fully complies with data privacy regulations.

“All data processing will happen within a secure, clean room environment, ensuring strict privacy compliance,” Frade said. “Our standards meet or exceed global data protection norms across the 60+ markets we operate in.”

Industry pundits feel that by introducing third-party verified ad measurement, JioHotstar is addressing a long-standing industry concern, giving advertisers access to transparent, independent, and real-time insights. As IPL’s digital ad ecosystem evolves, this move could set new standards for the Indian advertising industry, making third-party verification an industry norm rather than an exception.