COLOGNE, Germany—As esports continues to rise in popularity, Nielsen will be lending its assistance to ESL and DreamHack for measuring key components of the esports industry, including viewership, as part of a new partnership agreement.

The three companies have been previously working together to establish a foundation for delivering consistent and standardized esports measurement to media and advertisers, and this new agreement is an expansion upon their past work. In addition to utilizing standardized metrics for esports viewership measurement and benchmarking, the agreement focuses on brand impact, media & sponsor valuation and consumer analytics.

As members of the Nielsen Esports Advisory Board, ESL and DreamHack will support the establishment of standard audience metrics for all digital and linear esports broadcasts.

“It is very important for the esports industry to use standardized reliable data measured by an independent company like Nielsen in conversations with brand partners and broadcasters,” said Thomas Schmidt, CCO at ESL. “Our work with Nielsen reaffirms our commitment to shape the esports industry and build stronger relationships with media and advertising partners by driving the standardization of key performance indicators across the industry with an independent and reliable partner. Establishing KPI’s live average minute audience (AMA) and others will push the industry forward and make it more accessible for media partners worldwide.”

Nielsen will provide its measurement services for the recently announced ESL Pro Tour that will be run by ESL and DreamHack.