US media network ABC is participating in Nielsen’s ‘first-ever’ trial expanding its Online Campaign Ratings (OCR) solution to the measurement of ads on mobile devices. More

Nielsen has issued a public offering of 35 million new shares of common stock at $35.01 each, which it says will generate nearly $1.3 billion for certain existing unnamed shareholders. More

Radio ratings giant Arbitron has reported a 5.1% increase in Q1 revenue to $111.8m, compared with $106.4m in the prior year period. Earnings are slightly down - Q1 EBITDA was to $34.7m vs $36.6m a year earlier - due the firm says to the costs associated with the planned Nielsen merger. More

Nielsen is selling its ‘non-core’ tradeshow business Nielsen Expositions to Canadian private equity firm Onex in a cash deal worth $950m, in order to provide funds for its planned $1.3 billion acquisition of radio ratings giant Arbitron. More

AOL has partnered with Nielsen to develop a tool to measure those audiences viewing the former’s library of more than 620,000 videos. More

Nielsen is piloting a new solution, ‘Nielsen Digital Program Ratings’, designed to measure audiences who view TV content online. More

Nielsen has integrated its Online Campaign Ratings service with the Velocity measurement solution of digital video specialist SET Media, allowing advertisers to forecast Gross Rating Points (GRPs) by program type and by individual video, while also delivering post-impression analytics. More

US radio ratings giant Arbitron has entered a settlement agreement with Gannett-owned WKYC-TV, resolving the legal action brought against the television broadcaster in January for copyright and trademark infringement. More

TiVo Research and Analytics - a subsidiary of digital video recorder (DVR) firm TiVo - has added data from Nielsen to the media measurement and analytics services offered by its recently acquired TRA business. More

In the US, Arbitron’s one-time critic the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) has told the FTC it is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the potential for improvements in audience measurement for television and radio if the Arbitron-Nielsen merger goes ahead. More

Nielsen has rolled out its ad measurement service Online Campaign Ratings to four new markets - Germany, Italy, Australia and Canada. More

The Federal Trade Commission has asked Nielsen for additional information regarding its proposed $1.3 billion takeover of radio ratings giant Arbitron, postponing a possible deal still further. Meanwhile Nielsen may also be looking to offload its trade show business. More

With the planned acquisition by Nielsen approaching, Arbitron has set out details of remuneration packages for its senior execs including recently appointed President and CEO Sean Creamer. More

Nielsen has launched a solution for measuring the ‘resonance’ of brand advertising within mobile apps. The tool forms part of the Brand Effect product suite. More

A US Court has dismissed an appeal by Miami TV station Sunbeam, against an earlier dismissal of a lawsuit in which the broadcaster alleged Nielsen monopolized audience ratings systems in the region. More

New York’s Supreme Court has ruled that the $1 billion lawsuit brought by New Delhi Television (NDTV) against Nielsen and WPP should be heard in India. The broadcaster alleges that staff at the firms’ TAM joint venture took bribes in exchange for overstating ratings. More

The Ukraine Television Industry Committee (TIC) has awarded Nielsen a new audience measurement contract, apparently cutting short an agreement with previous incumbent GfK Ukraine after unproven allegations that the latter had bribed panellists. More

Radio ratings giant Arbitron has reported 2012 revenue up an impressive 6.5%. In the fourth quarter, growth was slower and net income was slightly dented by costs relating to the forthcoming Nielsen merger. More

After 66 years delivering Australia’s radio ratings, Nielsen Media has lost the contract to GfK, to whom national industry body Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has awarded a three-year deal starting next January. More

In Australia, Nielsen says it will retire its monthly Unique Browser (UB) metrics at the end of this month, following recent announcements from advertising bodies in the country that the figure is no longer meaningful. More

Nielsen has reported a 1% rise in revenue to $5.6 billion for the full year 2012, compared with the 8% increase it posted the previous year. Revenue in the firm’s Buy retail measurement division was flat while the Watch media analytics arm saw a 3% increase. More

Nielsen and Arbitron have voluntarily agreed to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with additional time to review Nielsen’s proposed takeover of the radio ratings giant. More

Nielsen has begun a five-year contract to operate a new Television Audience Measurement (TAM) service in Hong Kong. More

SPMS - an association for television audience measurement in the Czech Republic - has commissioned Nielsen to measure television viewing across the country. More

Nielsen has announced it is to acquire Arbitron for around $1.26 bn, or $48 per share of common stock. The transaction has been approved by both Boards and is subject to customary closing conditions. More

Nielsen and Twitter have reached a multi-year agreement to produce a new metric, the ‘Nielsen Twitter TV Rating’, for the US market, covering the reach on Twitter of conversation about TV programmes. The first figures will be commercially available from the fall of 2013. More

Indian TV network New Delhi Television (NDTV) has set out its reasons for wanting a US trial for its case against Nielsen and WPP, urging the Supreme Court of the State of New York to reject the two companies’ recent requests to have it thrown out. More

Nielsen has announced a reduction in the size of its Board of Directors to eleven members, with one director each from its six controlling partners. More

Nielsen has taken a minority stake in a new venture capital firm called Pereg Ventures, which plans to help start-ups offering technology for marketing and customer understanding. More

Nielsen has rolled out its real-time ad measurement and optimisation tool Online Brand Effect in the UK. More

According to reports, Nielsen has bought the remainder of Romanian company Retailplus Eastern Europe from co-founder Octavian Badescu. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

Nielsen has extended its partnership with Informate Mobile Intelligence to provide marketers with data on mobile device usage and content consumption across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (APMEA). More

Nielsen and its McKinsey joint venture NM Incite have announced the acquisition of SocialGuide, which provides analysis of social media conversations about TV programs. Terms were not disclosed. More

Two and a half months after its partner WPP did the same, Nielsen has filed a motion with the New York Supreme Court for dismissal of the lawsuit brought by broadcaster New Delhi Television (NDTV) against their TAM joint venture in India. More

Nielsen has announced third quarter revenue up 5% year-on-year, on a constant currency basis, to $1.423bn, with its Buy (4%) and Watch (5%) segments both contributing. Adjusted EBITDA rose 7% on the same basis to $424m. More

Indian television measurement body TAM is suspending publication of its viewing data from week 41 (October 7th) onwards, for 8 weeks while four of the country’s biggest cities switch over from analogue to DAS. More

Nielsen has rolled out its Online Brand Effect solution in Australia, offering clients there the ability to measure and optimize the effectiveness of their online advertising efforts in real-time. More

Nielsen has rolled out its ad measurement service Online Campaign Ratings in the UK, following a pre-launch test with consumer goods giants Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser. More

Nielsen has officially launched its Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings tool, which it says indicates ‘the true reach’ of video ads across multiple screens. The tool combines data from Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings service and its proprietary national TV panel. More

Nielsen and the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) have formed an ‘Innovation Committee’ to develop and test potential new approaches to mobile television audience measurement for Nielsen’s mTAM initiative. More

Nielsen is planning to raise $800m through the issue of ‘senior notes’ due in 2020, through its subsidiaries Nielsen Finance LLC and Nielsen Finance Co. More

Reports in the US press claim that Nielsen exec Itzhak Fisher is raising $50m which he will use to invest in start-up companies – with the initial $10m being provided by Nielsen. More

OzTAM - Australia's official source of television audience measurement – has extended its contract with Nielsen for the supply of services in the five Australian metropolitan markets, while committing to the development of multi-screen measurement. More

US-based ad targeting platform DG is to incorporate Nielsen’s data and metrics into its MediaMind campaign management tool, in order to provide its own and Nielsen’s subscribers with cross-platform measurement of ad campaigns. More

Nielsen has launched a cross-platform tool called ‘Nielsen Online Audience Segments - TV Viewing’, designed to help clients target online consumers based on their TV and web viewing behaviors. More

Indian broadcaster NDTV is suing Nielsen and Kantar Media Research over claims that staff at the firms’ joint venture TAM took bribes in exchange for overstating ratings. According to the suit, this practice has damaged NDTV’s business to the tune of around $810m in the past eight years. More

In New York, Nielsen/McKinsey joint venture NM Incite has appointed former McKinsey Principal Andrew Somosi as Chief Executive Officer. More

Nielsen has launched an upgrade plan for its Local Audience Ratings, which includes quadrupling sample size across all local markets and doubling it in diary markets. The firm says this will provide broadcasters with 'more granular data' for both programing and ad sales. More

Nielsen has launched an initiative called the Innovation Lab, through which it will combine its existing research with external data - from clients, industry groups and academia - to develop what it describes as 'ground-breaking ad effectiveness measurement'. More

Nielsen has underlined its commitment to cross-platform measurement with the acquisition of ad campaign optimisation technology firm Vizu. Terms were not disclosed. More

Nielsen has announced the launch of its TV Brand Effect service in China and Germany. The service gives metrics on a TV ad's 'breakthrough', or 'resonance', for purposes of real-time or post-campaign optimization. More

Nielsen has promoted Mathias Bernhardt to Managing Director in Germany, responsible for developing the firm's Buy consumer purchase behavior segment. More

Nielsen has launched a 'hybrid' version of its online video measurement methodology, to track how people consume and engage with online video content from all locations, including mobile devices. More

Nielsen has revised its full year 2012 revenue guidance downwards, following what it describes as 'changes to operating conditions' in its Buy consumer purchase behavior division outside the US. The company is now expecting constant current revenue growth of 5% to 6% for the full year. More

In the US, cable TV and Internet provider Comcast has partnered with Nielsen to test ratings measurement on portable devices such as iPads, tablets and mobile phones - currently a gap in the research giant's 3-day playback ratings offer (C3). More

Nielsen has written to inform clients it is developing a range of new audience meters and digital tracking codes, for possible deployment in or after 2004. More

Nielsen funded client think tank the Council for Research Excellence (CRE) is to conduct a three-market study of response bias in address-based audience samples, with the aim of improving diary-based TV-audience measurement. More

In Singapore, Nielsen has launched an Asian 'innovation hub' incorporating divisions for neuroscience (NeuroLAB), virtual, mobile and eye-tracking technologies (ShopperLAB) and market measurement and consumer information (MSciLAB). More

Nielsen has reported a 3% rise in revenue to $1.3 billion for the first quarter ended March 31. Growth was fairly even in its Buy consumer purchase behavior segment (up 2.7% to $800m)and its Watch media research division (up 2.6% to $480m). More

Nielsen is to integrate measures of ad safety and viewability into its Online Campaign Ratings service for Internet display and video advertising, through a partnership with ad engagement data provider AdSafe Media. More

Nielsen has partnered with The University of Chicago Booth School of Business to offer a historical perspective on consumer purchases to all US-based academic researchers. More

UKOM, the cross-industry organisation set up to oversee the measurement of online audiences, has ended its partnership with Nielsen and instead appointed comScore as its new partner for online media measurement in the UK. More

The Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong (HK4As) has awarded Nielsen a five-year Television Audience Measurement (TAM) contract for the period 2013 to 2017, incorporating measurement across multiple platforms. More

WPP's GroupM is working with Nielsen to develop a new cross-platform measurement service, integrating media planning and measurement across television and the Internet. More

Nielsen has announced the launch of its NeuroFocus testing laboratories in China, citing 'huge opportunities for businesses to tap into the unmet demands' of consumers as the economy shifts its focus towards them. More

Nielsen has officially launched its NOCR (Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings) cross-media measurement system, to provide metrics for online ad campaigns similar to those used for TV ads. Consumer goods giant Unilever is the first to sign up for the service. More

Nielsen and its partners TV ad sales firm Atmedia and cable operator UPC Polska have been awarded a contract to launch what is described as the largest TV audience measurement panel in Poland. More

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey has fallen foul of Nielsen after tweeting a request to its panelists on Sunday, urging them to watch her cable network OWN instead of the televised Grammy awards. More

Nielsen Media Australia MD Peter Cornelius has left the company, following a restructure which has resulted in the firm integrating its Watch (media) and Buy (consumer purchase behavior) divisions under the leadership of former MD, Pacific, Chris Percy. More

Nielsen has reported good growth and profit with full year 2011 revenues up 8% (6% at constant currencies) to $5.53bn and adjusted EBITDA up 10% (8%) to $1.546 bn. More

Nielsen/McKinsey joint venture NM Incite has introduced the latest version of its BuzzMetrics Exchange, which features detection support for more than 50 languages, along with city-level geo-location capabilities. More

Nielsen has acquired Chicago-based fresh food industry research specialist The Perishables Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

CIM, the Belgian Joint Industry Committee responsible for the country's audience measurement, has awarded Nielsen a four-year contract to supply its 'TV Events' measurement system, from 1 January 2013. More

In the US, Nielsen and comScore have settled patent infringement lawsuits relating to both firms' online measurement copyrights, and as part of the deal, Nielsen has acquired $19m of comScore common stock. More

Nielsen has postponed the launch of its radio ratings service in Tasmania, Australia - reportedly less than 24 hours before results were due - citing problems with sample. More

Nielsen has announced good results for the quarter ended September 30th, including revenues up 10% (6% at constant currencies) to $1,413m, and adjusted EBITDA up 7% in real terms, at $408m. More

In Australia, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has officially launched its online audience measurement methodology and service, after what it describes as 'an exhaustive process and review'. September data will be available next week. More

Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. - the son of the research company's founder Arthur C. Nielsen, and former Chairman of the business - died in Winnetka, IL on Monday, at the age of 92. More

Former Nielsen exec Christine Earl has been granted a federal appeals court ruling to press ahead with her discrimination case against her former employer, who she claims sacked her because of her age and health problems. More

Nielsen has moved to reassure clients and investors that an error in the set-up of its NPower data processing system will have no impact on its commercial data, ratings and projections, after potential problems were apparently overplayed on Wednesday. More

Nielsen has formed a strategic alliance with India-based Informate Mobile Intelligence, which uses on-device metering technology installed on panellists' handsets. More

In the US, the Media Rating Council (MRC) has accredited the Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings measurement system, launched recently to provide overnight audience reach, frequency, and Gross Rating Points (GRPs) for Internet display and video advertising. More

Nielsen has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its Puerto Rico TV audience measurement service, which was launched in April 2010. More

In the US, Nielsen has acquired market response modeling specialist Marketing Analytics Inc., and says the deal will help it to provide FMCG marketers with 'the most complete and timely view of the impact of media and marketing'. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. More

Nielsen is planning to launch a service which uses gross ratings points (GRP) for ad campaigns on Facebook and other online platforms, allowing comparison with measures of audience reach for television, print and outdoor advertising. More

Nielsen has reported a 10% rise in revenue to $1.4 billion for the second quarter, the result of a 14% increase in its Buy consumer purchase behavior segment and a 4% increase in its Watch media research arm. More

In the US, Nielsen has signed a multi-year agreement with Kantar Media to access set-top box (STB) data from the latter's DIRECTView audience measurement panel, for use in its local TV audience measures. More

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to resume sharing consumer data from its Walmart and Sam's Club stores with Nielsen, after a ten-year break. More

Yan Xuan has been appointed as President of Nielsen Greater China, reporting to CEO David Calhoun and with a seat on the Nielsen Executive Council (NEC). More

UKOM, the cross-industry organisation set up to oversee the measurement of online audiences, is to begin a major review of its main audience contract next month, allowing time to consider 'major changes' before the end of the contract - currently with Nielsen - in December 2012. More

Nielsen has launched a new approach to helping companies with their product innovation strategies, which it claims will increase the likelihood of new products succeeding to 75%. More

Peter Greene has left consumer and retail specialist The NPD Group after nearly 20 years, to join Nielsen's Segmentation and Local Market Analytics division in a newly created role, SVP Durables Strategies. More

In the US, Nielsen has formed an alliance with grocery media network and software firm MyWebGrocer, to develop what it says is the 'First Comprehensive View of US Online Supermarket Purchases.' More

After a week of silence from all the involved parties, Nielsen announced yesterday that it had acquired 100% of brain research specialist NeuroFocus Inc., and confirmed that founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr. A.K. Pradeep will continue to lead it. More

Nielsen has won IAB Australia's contract to supply the country's online audience measurement currency, following an eight-month tender process. More

Nielsen has agreed to acquire the remainder of neuromarketing firm NeuroFocus, to fend off a bid from marcoms giant WPP, according to a report in MediaDailyNews. More

Nielsen has promoted Emilie Darolles to the role of Managing Director of its operations in Taiwan. More

From November, Nielsen will produce all US local ratings for Hispanic TV programming using the same ratings panels used for English language stations. More

Nielsen has promoted former Microsoft exec Celia Fan to lead its 'Watch' media research division in Hong Kong. More

Dave Thomas, President Global Media Client Services at Nielsen, is to leave the firm after 22 years. His replacement will be Mitch Barns, currently President of Nielsen Greater China. More

Nielsen has promoted Karthik Rao to the position of Managing Director of its Greater China region, based in its Shanghai office. More

Nielsen has seen an 8.9% increase in revenue to $1.3bn for the first quarter of 2011. Net income rose from $16m to $64m but the firm reported a $181m loss in Q1 due to $206m costs relating to its recent initial public offering (IPO). More

In Hong Kong, Nielsen has added mobile Internet audience measurement to its Market Intelligence (MI) service. More

comScore has responded to Nielsen's recent patent infringement lawsuit with a suit of its own. More

Nielsen has reportedly accused comScore of violating five of its patents relating to the collection, analysis and reporting of information about online activity. More

In Singapore, Yahoo! and Nielsen have partnered to launch Brand Impact, a study aimed at quantifying the branding effectiveness of online ad campaigns across Asia. More

In the US, Nielsen has promoted Mary Liz Finn to the position of Chief Human Resources Officer, to lead the firm's human capital strategy, and oversee leadership development programs, compensation and benefits packages. More

In Malaysia, Sun Media Corporation (SMC) is taking legal action against Nielsen for publishing what it describes as 'false and misleading readership estimates' for its newspaper theSun. More

Nielsen has reported 2010 revenue of $5.13 billion, a 6.1% increase on a constant currency basis. Net income of $132m for the year compares well with a loss of $489m in 2009. More

In the US, Nielsen funded client think tank The Council for Research Excellence (CRE) has selected research and advisory firm BIA/Kelsey to conduct a review of research currently available about user experience on multiple video platforms. More

Cyprus-based MEMRB (The Middle East Market Research Bureau) has been bought by Nielsen for an undisclosed sum, thought to be around 60m Euros. More

Nielsen has priced its forthcoming initial public offering (IPO) at around $1.64bn or $23.00 per share. The shares will trade from today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'NLSN'. More

In the US, Sunbeam Television has dropped two charges against Nielsen that claimed the research giant had engaged in unfair trade practices and breach of contract. More

Ahead of the official release of its financial results for calendar year 2010, Nielsen has reported an expected revenue increase of between 6.3% and 6.7% to between $5,110m and $5,130m (2009 = $4,808m), equivalent to 5.8% to 6.2% on a constant currency basis. More

In the US, antitrust charges brought by Sunbeam Television against Nielsen have been dismissed by a Florida federal judge. More

In Warsaw, Poland, public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) has given Nielsen a four-year contract to provide television audience measurement services, beginning this month. More

Nielsen's Chief Human Resources Officer Roberto (Bob) Llamas is to leave the firm at the end of the first quarter 2011. The firm plans to name a successor during the transition period. More

Nielsen will provide clients early in 2011 with preview reports for its 'Extended Screen' initiative. The approach adds Internet viewing of TV programs into Nielsen's National People Meter (NPM) television ratings, to demonstrate the impact of online viewing on program measurement. More

Nielsen has formed a joint venture with China Cable Union Data Services (CCData) to pioneer the delivery of new and more detailed insight on China's growing digital TV market. More

Nielsen has announced that it is shutting down its diary-based radio ratings service in the US, from the Fall 2010 period. The firm said in a statement that the decision will not impact its international radio measurement services. More

Nielsen Singapore has appointed Grace Liu as Head of Consumer Research, succeeding Joan Koh who was promoted to the post of Managing Director in April. More

Following its admission last month of a flaw in the measurement of web traffic due to pages with 'very long URLs', Nielsen has now notified clients that it will 'restate' ratings for nine TV stations in four of its metered markets due to problems with 'software logic'. More

IPO-bound research giant Nielsen has reportedly struck a new deal with CEO David Calhoun, adding three years to his contract in exchange for a salary rise and a $6 million signing bonus. More

In the US, Nielsen has launched a Media Analytics initiative, focused on developing tools to provide additional insights from its existing syndicated media research data. The new initiative will be led by Bill Moult, a founding partner of the Media Behavior Institute (MBI). More

US ad industry ratings watchdog the Media Rating Council (MRC) has withdrawn its accreditation for local television ratings in Nielsen's 154 diary-only markets, backdating the withdrawal to 2009. More

Nielsen has apologised to clients for a 'flaw' in its web traffic methodology which has led to under-counting of web traffic in products including its NetView service. More

Two of Nielsen's subsidiaries are planning to sell $750m of senior notes which are due in 2018, in order to pay off a proportion of the research giant's debt. More

Nielsen has this week told clients it may widen the definition of its new Extended Screen ratings, dropping the absolute requirement that online TV programs must carry the same ads as their original broadcast. Separately, the research giant is said to be piloting a new 'GRP'-style online audience measure. More

Dubai-based Real Opinions has signed a reseller agreement with The Nielsen Company. Real Opinions will offer a number of Nielsen Online solutions in the Middle East, including SiteCensus, Market Intelligence and Campaign Analysis. More

In the US, the dispute between Sunbeam Television and Nielsen appears to be coming to a conclusion: the parties informed a judge in Miami last week that they are close to resolving the suit. More

Nielsen has developed an iPad app using audio watermarks to automatically detect and synchronize with TV programs, to serve viewers with relevant interactive content and advertisements. More

In the US, Sunbeam Television's lawsuit against Nielsen is back in the news, with mandatory mediation due to start on Monday in Boston. Sunbeam has submitted a long list of individuals it may cite or call upon for evidence, including network execs and current and past Nielsen competitors. More

Nielsen has increased the amount it wants to raise by selling stock to $2.01bn, in its initial public offering (IPO) filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm has also added two new categories for measuring TV viewing. More

Nielsen has announced results for the quarter and six months ended June 30. Reported quarterly revenues rose to $1,270m, up 7% year-on-year and reported operating income rose 6% from $172m to $182m - a rise of 10% after adjusting for one-off costs and currency changes. More

Nielsen has appointed Gai Le Roy to the role of Vice President Research - Audience Measurement, in its Asia Pacific online division. More

In the US, the Media Rating Council (MRC) has given approval to all 25 of Nielsen's Local People Meter (LPM) markets - ten of which had their accreditation renewed, while the remaining fifteen markets were granted accreditation for the first time. More

In the US, Manish Bhatia, Nielsen's President of Advanced Digital Services, has left the company, resulting in a re-structure which will see the firm integrate set-top-box (STB) data into its current audience measurement services. More

Nielsen has told clients it will bring back its 'live-only' television ratings, dropped in April in favour of a measurement combining live and time-shifted viewing. The company says it has not changed its view that live/same day is a better measure, but can now offer both due to increased data capacity. More

Nielsen has been reappointed as New Zealand's supplier of television audience measurement (TAM) services, winning an eight-year contract from SKY, TVNZ and TVWorks. More

US video ad network BrightRoll has unveiled a new reporting suite that offers a means to measure the ROI on their online video campaigns, using measurement and analytics tools from research partners including comScore, Nielsen, Vizu and InsightExpress. More

Nielsen and management consultancy McKinsey have formed a joint venture - NM Incite - to help companies use social media intelligence to drive business performance. More

TV ratings body TAM Ireland is to expand the size of its television audience measurement panel, while introducing the ability to track time shifted viewing (TSV) - a move which it says makes Ireland among the earliest countries to measure such trends in viewing behaviour. More

Nielsen is to track South African consumers' lifestyle habits and engagement during the imminent World Cup, using BlackBerry devices. Participants will compile mobile diaries including photos and captions, giving a detailed picture of their movements and interaction with the tournament. More

Nielsen has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $1.75bn in an initial public offering (IPO), which it will use to pay down debt and for 'general corporate purposes'. More

Nielsen Online's UK Managing Director Stephen Brooks has left, as part of a company restructure. More

As part of an internal restructure, Nielsen has transferred Ivar Michaelsen from its Denmark office, to lead its operation in Germany, while appointing Justin Sargent as Group Managing Director for UK and Ireland. More

Nielsen has added mobile Internet audience measurement to its Australian market intelligence service, a 'world first' in online audience measurement methodology according to the measurement giant. More

In the UK, Nielsen has appointed AOL Europe's former Director of Insights and Sales Strategy Andrew Bradford, as a new member of its European online division. More

Nielsen has acquired US-based video analytics and technology company GlanceGuide, and integrated the firm's advanced analytics capabilities into its own online video measurement tools. More

WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell says the figure reported in the press for Nielsen's possible valuation is 'out of the ballpark' and 'doesn't work in any way, shape or form'. Both companies reported encouraging results today, WPP forecasting growth for the year and Nielsen seeing 4% real revenue growth over Q1 2009. More

Nielsen has withdrawn 'TV Channels Receivable', a reporting service which showed how many channels the average TV household receives. The firm cites the change in the way channels are presented by different multi-channel providers as the reason behind the move. More

Nielsen has released initial findings from its China 'Three Screen Report', which aims to provide insights into how Chinese consumers are using TV, Internet and mobile platforms. More

Nielsen has launched a global Research and Development program in China, focusing on market research technologies and methodologies. The firm says this initiative will become its most important R&D program outside the US home market. More

Nielsen is said to be preparing to trade as a public company, inviting a number of investment banks to underwrite an initial public offering (IPO) which could be worth up to $21bn. More

Nielsen and Facebook have released the findings of a study which claims to show that ads placed on social media sites are more likely than others to be noticed and remembered, while also increasing users' intent to purchase. More

In the US, Nielsen has partnered with word of mouth (WOM) specialist Bazaarvoice to integrate the latter's consumer ratings and reviews into its BuzzMetrics dashboard. More

In the US, Nielsen has appointed media research veteran Ira Sussman as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of National Television Client Services; replacing Catherine Herkovic who has held the role since 2007. More

Nielsen has rolled out its television audience measurement system in Puerto Rico, adding to the more than 30 markets where it already provides TV ratings. More

In Malaysia, Nielsen has promoted Kow Kuan Hua to the position of Managing Director of its Consumer Group, after 13 years with the firm. More

Joan Koh has been promoted to the position of Managing Director of Nielsen in Singapore, after more than a decade with the firm. She replaces Paul Richmond, who has taken on the role of regional Managing Director of Retail Services and Product Leadership. More

In the US, Nielsen is to eliminate live-only TV ratings, and has confirmed it will be introducing major changes to the way it calculates national ratings, including adding duplicate viewing to program telecasts. More

Software developer Openwave Systems Inc. is to collaborate with Nielsen to develop an 'insight engine', combining demographics and analytics to help mobile operators analyze, profile and target audience segments. More

In the US, Nielsen has partnered with online targeting data firm eXelate to integrate granular online and anonymous household-level offline data into eXelate's Targeting eXchange. More

Nielsen has acquired Munich-based market research consulting firm USP Market Intelligence, which focuses on consumer goods such as tobacco, confectionery and beverages in Germany and Austria. Terms were not disclosed. More

Sunbeam Television's lawsuit against Nielsen Media Research, filed last April, looks like it might be going to court after all, following a decision by a Florida judge. The claims centre around lower audience figures from Nielsen's new LPM system. More

The Nielsen Company has announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009. Revenue was almost exactly level with the previous year ($4,806m) but up 4% if currency fluctuations are excluded. More

Nielsen’s TV ad effectiveness arm ‘Nielsen IAG’ is planning a UK roll out for its ad and programme engagement measurement service, running in the US since 2000. More

In the US, joint tests by The Nielsen Company and the Television Advertising Committee of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) have paved the way for the provision of individual or ‘brand-specific’ commercial ratings, the partners claim. More

Nielsen has promoted Justin Garrett to the post of Greater China Head within its newly formed Global Financial Services Practice. Based in Hong Kong, his role also covers China and Taiwan. More

UKOM - the UK Online Measurement Company - and Nielsen have officially launched the UKOM Audience Planning System (APS), by publishing inaugural data from the online audience measurement system. More

Neuromarketing firm NeuroFocus has formed a joint venture partnership with Nielsen to roll out its services in Australia. More

In India, Nielsen has promoted Piyush Mathur to the role of Managing Director for its South Asia Business. More

In the US, mobile advertising exchange Mobclix is to add Nielsen's data to its platform, to help increase the effectiveness of mobile advertising spend and enable mobile application developers to make more money through advertising. More

Nielsen has modified its plan to change the metric on which advertising deals for local TV ads are made, and says it will continue to provide Live TV ratings until the end of March 2010. More

Multi-screen measurement firm Rentrak Corporation has acquired Nielsen EDI, which provides measurement information and research solutions to the movie industry. More

Nielsen has formed a joint venture with St. Petersburg, Florida-based consumer-driven print communications firm Catalina Marketing Corporation, addressing the current hot topic of linking marketing exposure with purchasing behaviour. More

Former Nielsen exec Grace Pan has joined performance based digital marketing company SinoTech Group in the role of Chief Strategy Officer. More

The Nielsen Company is selling eight publications including Billboard music magazine and The Hollywood Reporter, to a newly formed media investment group, e5 Global Media LLC; and is discontinuing two other titles. More

The Nielsen Company has promoted Eva Leung to the position of Executive Director, Retail Measurement, Hong Kong, replacing Angel Young who has moved to a regional role within the firm.. She was previously Director, Client Service, Retail Measurement. More

Nielsen is to begin measuring television viewing in Puerto Rico, from the first quarter of next year. Launch clients include the island's three largest television providers: WKAQ-TV, the owned and operated Telemundo station; WLII-TV, the Univision affiliate; and WAPA-TV (Independent). More

The recently launched Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is to make digital set-top-box data (STB) its first priority, following a recent meeting held with audience measurement leaders. More

The recently formed Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) will be hosting a meeting with Nielsen, Rentrak, TiVo, TRA and TNS to discuss how the firms can work with the coalition to foster set-top box data research innovation. More

Nielsen and online targeting firm DataLogix have partnered to enable advertisers to target consumers based on their lifestyles, purchasing habits and media usage. More

Brand protection specialist MarkMonitor has appointed Nielsen's Vice Chair Susan Whiting to its Board of Directors. More

Nielsen is to give its client think tank, the Council For Research Excellence (CRE), an additional $2.5m, bringing its total four-year investment to $10m. More

In New York, Nielsen has hired Steve Hasker to fill the newly created position of President, Media Product Leadership and Advertiser Solutions - a new business unit set up to help advertisers 'deliver the right messages to the right consumers'. More

At a launch event held yesterday, UKOM - the UK online measurement body - unveiled further details about the online audience planning system it is developing in partnership with Nielsen. More

Nielsen Online has underlined its commitment to the panel-based methodology it will use for the UK's first web measurement currency, following competitor comScore's proposal of a 'person-centric' approach using a hybrid technique employing cookie deletion. More

UKOM, the UK online measurement body, has appointed Nielsen as its official partner to create the country's first currency for planning advertising campaigns on the Internet. More

Nielsen and Facebook have signed a multi-year partnership to help clients better measure the impact of online advertising and develop and market new products. More

Nielsen's decision to do away with live-only program ratings is 'a significant step backwards' according to GroupM North America's Chief Investment Officer, Rino Scanzoni. More

Following client consultation, Nielsen is to move to live-program-plus-same-day ratings in its Local People Meter (LPM) and Set Meter markets by early December. More

In the US, the newly formed Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) has attempted to clarify its goals in a conference call, stressing that rather than creating a competitor for Nielsen Media Research, it wants to fund new research into cross-platform and TV set-top box measurement. More

Nielsen has acquired KoreanClick, a web measurement company in South Korea, for an undisclosed sum. More

A group of 14 companies has formally announced the founding of the Council for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), a consortium that will create a new TV audience measurement system, designed to challenge Nielsen's control over the marketplace. More

Nielsen has moved Oliver Rust into the position of Managing Director, overseeing its business portfolio in Hong Kong. He replaces Ms Fanny Chan, who has moved to a regional role with the company. More

Nielsen Media Research has developed a new meter which will measure online video viewing in the same way the firm's A/P Meter does for television. More

Media giant Time Warner has signed a seven year agreement with Nielsen, which will bring together TV, online, mobile measurement services, research on advertising segmentation and targeting, and consumer engagement research, under one contract. More

In response to last week's news that a consortium has been formed to challenge Nielsen's TV audience measurement 'monopoly', the firm has been in touch with employees to confirm that 'three screen' measurement remains central to its strategy. More

In the US, Nielsen executive Steve McGowan is to return to the Discovery Channel as Senior Vice President of Research, in charge of directing all broadcast, digital media, marketing, ancillary and other types of research. More

In the US, Nielsen Media Research veteran Tom Ziangas has joined TV production company Rainbow Media Holdings as Senior Vice President of Research, to oversee programming and sales research. More

In the US, Nielsen is facing a lawsuit brought by Sunbeam Television Corporation, over claims that the ratings firm is understating the broadcaster's TV audiences. More

Nielsen has transferred Jed Meyer from its US operation to the post of Managing Director, Media Services, Greater China based in Shanghai. More

Nielsen has appointed Duncan Falzon as Executive Director of Nielsen Media Thailand and Media Index, Asia Pacific. More

Nielsen is about to roll out its store layout and category space management solution my.spaceman, across more than 100 markets. More

Around 6.5 million US homes (5.7% of households) are not ready for the transition to digital TV (DTV) which is now scheduled to take place on June 12 this year, according to Nielsen estimates. More

In the US, Nielsen has announced the indefinite suspension of its P.R.I.S.M. initiative, which it set up with the In-Store Marketing Institute in 2006. P.R.I.S.M. aimed to establish a common industry metric to measure audiences and gauge the effectiveness of in-store marketing. More

In Singapore, Nielsen has appointed Suresh Ramalingam as Managing Director of Consumer Research for its newly expanded API, MENAP and Southern Africa regions (APIMEA). More

In the US, Nielsen has partnered with broadcast measurement firm Repucom to analyze content and measure viewers' exposure to sponsored media during televised sporting events. The new service will replace Nielsen’s current Scorecard offering. More

Nielsen has written to clients announcing a delay to the rollout of its Local People Meter (LPM) service in local television markets. The company will pause when the LPM is in use in 25 markets, instead of continuing rapidly to reach all 56 originally scheduled. More

Nielsen is moving into direct competition with Arbitron over US radio ratings: two major radio broadcasters today announced a switch to Nielsen Media’s ratings service in a number of markets from Q3 of 2009. Arbitron has described the once-a-year Nielsen service as ‘a step backward’. More

In the US, Nielsen has promoted Executive Vice President Susan Whiting to the post of Company Vice Chairperson, joining Chairman and CEO David Calhoun in the newly created ‘Office of the CEO’ to provide oversight and direction to the company’s initiatives and operations. More

Nielsen has delayed plans to measure online media usage in a number of its People Meter panel households, to provide time to include both Internet video usage and web site navigation. More

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has completed the first phase of its audit of Nielsen’s NetSight meter technology, which is used in the firm’s international panels and US MegaPanel and will now be integrated into its audience measurement products in the US. More

Nielsen has appointed Rebecca Chiu as Director, Consumer Research (FMCG) based in Hong Kong. More

Social networking site 'Hey! Nielsen' is to close. The research giant says it is 'working on a new consumer site' but has not yet given details of the reason for the closure or the nature of the new offering. More

Nielsen has launched a new service to benchmark the quality of mobile phone networks across 39 markets in India. More

In the US, Nielsen has launched a new panel which it says is the first to simultaneously measure use of both television and the Internet in the same home. More

In the US, Nielsen has expanded its suite of out-of-home (OoH) media measurement services to cover the $1.3bn advertiser-backed video network business. More

Nielsen has reported increased second quarter revenues of $1,304m, up 12% from the same period in the previous year; and a year-on-year rise of 12% in first half revenues to $2,518m. More

Nielsen Mobile and Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) have jointly launched a database of consumers’ mobile and offline media usage, that will allow mobile media companies and advertisers to better target audiences with their mobile campaigns. More

In partnership with Digital Media Group (DMG), Nielsen has conducted what it describes as the ‘first ever’ China subway TV rating survey, using an evaluation method that the pair say has never been applied to digital outdoor media until now. More

GfK’s discussions regarding a possible offer for TNS are ‘progressing positively’ the company said today, as it announced a strong order book from the first half of 2008 and a two-week delay in financial reporting. However, TNS has reportedly been talking to Sir Martin Sorrell and scouting for other possible buyers. More

Canadian-based public opinion and market research firm Angus Reid Strategies has hired former Nielsen Media Research President Mike Leahy to launch a new syndicated research division. More

Nielsen Media Research has been awarded a five-year contract to conduct the South African Advertising Research Foundation’s (SAARF) All Media and Products Survey (AMPS) and the Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS). The contract commences on 1st January 2009. More

Ratings giant Nielsen Media has told clients it will drop its landline-based random digit dialling (RDD) telephone sampling method for recruiting paper diarists, from November, in favour of one using the addresses of prospective panel households. More

Nielsen’s film and home entertainment specialist NRG (National Research Group) has become part of the firm’s BASES division, which provides new product optimization, marketing plan simulation capabilities and sales forecasting. More

Nielsen has reported $1,214m revenues for Q1, an increase of 13% from Q1 2007. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, the increase was a healthy 8%. However, the firm still made a net loss from continuing operations of $82m. More

Nielsen Media Research has sent clients a 9-page letter explaining its plans for the transition to digital-only TV broadcasting, which comes into effect in February 2009. To accommodate the transition and avoid potential disruptions, the firm will be moving its February 2009 TV viewing ‘sweeps’ to March. More

In the US, Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications Inc. has announced further collaboration with Nielsen, aimed at providing improved measurement and insight covering the Hispanic consumer segment. More

In the US, the anti-trust lawsuit raised by TV ratings company erinMedia against Nielsen Media Research (NMR) has been dismissed by the court, with terms of the agreement remaining undisclosed and both parties agreeing to pay their own court costs. More

From next January, Nielsen Media Research will switch to ‘time-shifted’ commercial minute ratings data as the standard currency for local TV ratings. The system will use ‘live plus three’ data, meaning that video played back within three days of initial broadcast will be included. More

In the US, The Nielsen Group has promoted Karen Watson to the position of Chief Communications Officer and Senior VP of Global Communications, from her previous title of SVP Communications for Nielsen Media Research. More

In the Philippines, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court has suspended proceedings filed by broadcaster ABS-CBN against AGB Nielsen Media research, to allow the parties time to try and reach a settlement. More

Nielsen Media Research is funding a $3.5m year-long study to observe how people actually consume media on both traditional and emerging video platforms inside and outside their homes. More

Commercial Radio Australia – the industry body representing Australia's commercial radio broadcasters – has teamed up with Nielsen Media Research to develop an enhanced ratings system to reflect changes in audience listening habits. More

Nielsen Media Research has informed clients that it is close to making a decision on whether to make its local TV ratings more consistent with national TV ratings currency. More

Following a series of problems with its TV coding system, Nielsen Media Research has written to US TV stations asking them to help ensure there are no future glitches. Nielsen has also sent them a ‘Guide to Encoder Best Practices’, which outlines the correct coding procedures. More

Nielsen has announced plans for the September launch of an enhanced weighting procedure for its TV ratings estimates. It will also be consolidating all its national ratings systems into a single ‘calculation platform’ during the next two years. More

From the end of the year, Nielsen Media Research will no longer collect data on remote control ownership in households in its metered panels. The ratings giant says 96% of its US sample have a remote control device and most new sets now come with one. More

Nielsen Media Research is commencing the Singapore launch of the Nielsen Personal Outdoor Device (Npod), and plans to launch the measurement system in Hong Kong in the near future. More

India’s audience measurement agency TAM has confirmed that its Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) survey will go ahead this month using Diary methodology, despite concerns expressed by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) that the technology is not sufficiently robust. More

Nielsen Media Research has informed its TV network and syndication clients that its Monitor-Plus tracking system is struggling to identify some new forms of ‘live’ TV advertising; and asked them to work with it to solve the problem. More

Nielsen Media Research in China has promoted Rita Chan to the post of Executive Director of Sales & Client Services, more than 25 years after she joined the group. More

Nielsen Media Research has blamed technical problems for underreporting of ratings for the USA Network for five days last week, including WWE wrestling program ‘Raw’; and says the system is now functioning normally again. More

In South Africa, Nielsen Media Research has uncovered anomalies in its print adspend data going back to January, which have resulted in advertising spend being overstated for both newspapers and magazines. More

Nielsen Media Research has released the first electronic TV ratings for New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, but ad agencies and advertisers will have to wait another two weeks before they can see them. More

The Nielsen Company has reported revenues for the first quarter of 2007 up 5% over the same period last year, helped by a strong performance (up 7%) from its Media Research division. More

Nielsen Media Research has launched a service to track Internet advertising spend in Singapore, through its Advertising Information Services (AIS) unit. More

Nielsen Media Research is to enhance the weighting of its National People Meter (NPM) ratings sample, with the aim of making it more representative of the US population. More

Nielsen has announced the consolidation of its digital television set top box measurement activities into a new service, Nielsen DigitalPlus. The system will take data from both cable system operators (MSOs) and satellite providers and integrate it with other Nielsen information. More

The growth of new media notwithstanding, Nielsen Media Research is forecasting a massive 47% rise in the number of TV-owning households in the States – up from 111.4 million to 163.7 million – in its annual report ‘Projected Estimates of TV Households and Persons 2008 to 2050’. More

Nielsen Media Research has released the Arianna™ television ratings tool in the US. NMR says the tool, which is already in use in 30 other countries across four continents, will enable local clients to ‘move into the arena of desktop data analysis’. More

On schedule, Nielsen Media Research has commenced its inclusion of the viewing of college students living away from home in its National People Meter (NPM) ratings. The company also released stats from November hinting at the kind of impact the addition may have on overall viewing figures. More

Nielsen Media Research has confirmed that it will begin providing commercial-minute ratings as early as the end of this month. Clients will get an updated version of the firm’s NPOWER software on Jan 29th to perform their own minute-by-minute analyses, and Nielsen’s own All Minute Data File will follow in April. More

For the first time, more US households now own DVD players (81.2% of all households) than VCRs (79.2%), according to the 3rd Quarter Home Technology Report from Nielsen Media Research. More

Nielsen Media Research has agreed to develop its TV ratings along two lines, following a meeting last week with more than 100 clients. Parallel with the development of more flexible minute-by-minute data, the firm will offer a simpler ‘average commercial minute ratings’ service. More

VNU has announced its quarterly and 9-month financial results for the period to September 30. Pro forma operating revenue for the third quarter was Euros 904m, up 6% on the previous year at constant currency, while operating income fell 29% to Euros 72m. More

Nielsen Media Research (NMR) will launch a service to measure nationally distributed Video On Demand (VOD) content, on December 11th. The service will use the National People Meter sample used for television ratings, and ‘watermark’ content for detection by its new Active/Passive meter. More

Nielsen Media Research (NMR) has today announced findings from its first ever Product Placement Valuation Study, part of its A2/M2 initiative. The research demonstrates and quantifies the value that product placement contributes to traditional TV advertising. More

Nielsen Media Research has created a further body to advise it on ethnic audience measurement issues, an African American Advisory Council (AAAC) consisting of 12 industry, community, and business leaders. More

Merging information from television and Internet panels into a single database, Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings have announced the launch of their National TV/Internet Fusion database. More

Nielsen Media Research and News Corporation have announced an eight-year agreement for audience measurement services. Relations between the two firms had been troubled since News Corp company Fox TV questioned Nielsen’s methods in 2004 and at one point called for government regulation of TV ratings. More

Audience measurement specialist Nielsen Media Research has a new division, Nielsen Wireless and Interactive Services, headed by VP Jeff Herrmann; and has announced the launch of GamePlay Metrics, a new rating service for video games. More

Nielsen Media Research has announced that its Local People Meter (LPM) technology will be launched in the five key centres of Phoenix, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Miami and Denver, in 2008. More

Audience measurement giant Nielsen Media Research has established five new Client Advisory Committees, consisting of almost 90 senior clients, to guide the company’s Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement (A2/M2) initiatives, aimed at moving measurement into the integrated media age. More

News of another advisory body established by Nielsen Media Research: the Council for Research Excellence, the firm’s independent forum established last year, is commissioning a pilot study on consumption of traditional and emerging video platforms inside and outside the home. More

Nielsen Media Research has announced a start date - January 29, 2007 – for the inclusion of students at college in National People Meter (NPM) audience estimates. The system, known as ‘Extended Home viewing’, is part of the firm’s drive to ‘measure television viewing wherever it occurs.’ More

VNU has announced results for the three months ended June 30, dominated by an adjustment of Euros 71m for costs relating to the sale of the company in May. Excluding this, pro forma operating revenue was up 6% year on year in constant currency to Euros 943m, and operating income up 11% to Euros 114m. More

Nielsen Media Research (NMR) has announced it will include data for Azteca America, the newest Spanish-Language TV network in the US, in its National People Meter ratings service, the NTI. Nielsen has also released stats showing the growth in ethnic TV household numbers at the national and local DMA levels. More

Figures out this week from Nielsen Media Research show changes in the US TV audience including an overall rise in television households of 1.1% and a 16% decrease in the number in the New Orleans area. More

Nielsen Media Research has announced that cable service provider Insight Communications has signed up to its new NORA™ on-demand transactional reporting service, which began testing only this year. More

Nielsen Media Research has named Catherine Herkovic as General Manager in charge of its Local Business Unit. She moves from a Senior VP role at the Nielsen Station Index (NSI), and replaces Jack Oken who moves to the role of General Manager, Strategic Measurement Initiatives. More

VNU continues to build the Communications team for its research businesses. Last week, it appointed Karen Watson in a Senior VP Communications role covering Nielsen Media Research and the MMI Group – this week Gary Holmes has joined her team as VP, Global Communications and Chief Press Officer. More

US advertising spend in the first quarter of 2006 rose 5.6% over the same period last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising intelligence service of Nielsen Media Research. More

Karen Watson has joined VNU as Senior Vice President, Communications for Nielsen and for the Media Measurement and Information (MMI) Group. Watson served last year on the Independent Task Force on Television Measurement, and is a former Director of the Office of Public Affairs for the Federal Communications Commission. More

It’s hard to find anyone over the age of fifteen in Hong Kong that doesn’t own a mobile phone, according to the latest findings from Nielsen Media’s Media Index and Panorama. The survey looks at media habits, lifestyles, attitudes and product consumption across Asia Pacific. More

Nielsen Media Research has announced that it will provide integrated, all-electronic ratings for television regardless of the platform on which it is viewed, under the ‘Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement’ initiative (A2/M2). More

VNU’s acquisition by the Valcon consortium looks likely to go ahead after Knight Vinke Asset Management (KVAM), hitherto the loudest opponent of the deal, said it would tender its shares at the new bid price, before the deadline for acceptance passed this afternoon. More

Nielsen Media Research has appointed Siriporn Kittichutchawarl as its Director in Thailand, based in Bangkok and reporting to Richard Basil Jones, Asia Pacific MD. More

Media intelligence solutions firm Video Monitoring Services (VMS) has announced an agreement with Nielsen Media Research’s Monitor-Plus division, which will supply it with near-real time, automated identification of breaking television commercials. More

In the USA, The Council for Research Excellence has announced that it will soon begin its first detailed study into one of the fundamentals of television audience measurement – the quality of the research samples from which the ratings are drawn. More

AGB Nielsen Media Research has announced the appointment of Justin Sampson as Managing Director of its UK unit. He joins after some 18 months at ITV preceded by 9 years at the Radio Advertising Bureau, latterly as MD. More

Media owner Frank S. Maggio has set launch dates and ambitious targets for his interactive television company ReacTV. Maggio’s erinMedia, a challenger to Nielsen Media Research, will provide advertisers with its own second-by-second TV viewing data, plus web ratings from NY-based 24/7. More

Two of VNU’s major shareholders could scupper the US$10.3 billion private equity buyout backed by the group’s Board earlier this week. Fund manager Fidelity International, which owns 15% of VNU, said it was ‘unlikely to support this offer’, while FT reports suggest 2% holder KVAM is ‘actively looking’ for a Chief Executive to run VNU. More

VNU, parent of ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, has announced that it has agreed to a public offer from a private-equity consortium including AlpInvest Partners, valuing the company's equity at approximately EUR 7.5 bn in cash, or EUR 28.75 per common share. The option of breaking the company up has been rejected. More

VNU has announced ‘better-than-expected results’ for 2005. The Media Measurement & Information division (MMI) showed 11% organic growth, led by a strong Nielsen Media Research (NMR). Group-wide, organic growth was only 5%. VNU says favourable settlement of tax audits ‘more than offset’ the $55m cost of the recent IRI settlement. More

Nielsen Media Research has declined its option to work with Arbitron in developing the latter’s PPM technology as the primary measurement tool for US media ratings currency. Nielsen has spent millions of dollars on assessing the technology since signing an agreement in 2000, but will now pursue a multi-stranded ‘portfolio strategy’. More

From next year, Nielsen Media Research will include the viewing of college students living away from home in its national television ratings. The addition is likely to increase ratings for young adult viewing by as much as 12%. More

A group of VNU shareholders is pressing the Dutch company to break itself into three divisions and sell each separately rather than agree to the proposed 7.3bn Euro buyout deal with private-equity firms, according to reports today in the Wall Street Journal. More

VNU, owner of ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, announced this morning that it is continuing ‘active talks’ with a private-equity consortium over a proposed buyout. The company’s Supervisory and Executive Boards plan to give their view of the offer by the end of this month. More

In a keynote speech to the Detroit Economic Club this week, Susan Whiting, President and CEO of Nielsen Media Research, spoke about the company’s attempts to provide new measurement services that can accurately capture increasingly fragmented multimedia audiences. More

Nielsen’s Local People Meter (LPM) audience measurement system, closely scrutinised since claims last year that it under-represented people of color, actually counts a higher proportion of African-American viewers than traditional diary systems, according to the company’s latest stats from trials in Dallas and Detroit. More

TNS Media Intelligence is forecasting a 5.4% increase in US advertising spend this year, well up on the estimated 3% in 2005. Meanwhile in Asia Pacific, Nielsen Media Research reports that ad spending grew by 14% last year, with the market in China surging by 21%. More

Rebecca Tan, who formerly led Nielsen Media’s business in Singapore, is taking on the new position of Executive Director for both Singapore and Malaysia. She will spearhead both countries’ operations, including the advertising expenditure tracking and custom media research businesses. More

The Local People Meter (LPM) TV audience measurement system records higher viewing figures than traditional diary and set meter systems, according to new data from Nielsen Media Research. During its trial of LPMs in Detroit and Dallas, recorded viewing figures rose by as much as 18%. More

After weeks of speculation, VNU revealed today that it a private equity consortium has offered to buy the company for 28 to 28.5 Euros per common share. VNU says it is considering the proposal, and is not proceeding with discussions with any other party. More

The Chairman of US TV ratings company erinMedia says he is considering a takeover of its rival Nielsen Media Research if Nielsen’s parent company, VNU, is sold. erinMedia has also announced a second lawsuit against Nielsen Media for false advertising, countering Nielsen’s claims that it measures ‘millions of viewers’. More

Advertising and media company the Interpublic Group (IPG) has committed to using Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) measurement of radio audiences. The group says it will be the first to switch to PPM audience estimates as soon as the service becomes available. More

Nielsen Media’s TV industry forum, the Council for Research Excellence (CRE), is calling for proposals from research agencies for its Audience Consumption of Media study. The proposals should focus on measuring new technologies, such as digital video recorders (DVRs), and their effect on viewing habits and engagement. More

In the US, Urban Television Network Corporation has signed up for Nielsen Media’s national and local syndication service. The agreement will allow the company’s UATV network, which specifically targets urban African Americans and English-speaking Hispanic Americans, to use Nielsen audience data for programming and advertising purposes. More

VNU, owner of ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, is to give potential private equity bidders limited access to its books, according to reports in the Financial Times last week. Shares in the company rose by more than 4% following the FT report. More

Media company Univision Communications is to become the first Spanish language television network to join Nielsen Media Research's national TV ratings service, the Nielsen Television Index (NTI). The service provides television ratings for all the major US networks. More

VNU expects its earnings per share and revenue growth for 2005 to fall below previous estimates, due to disappointing results in Europe, coupled with the costs of the aborted VNU/IMS Health merger. The company has also confirmed that it is currently evaluating approaches made by potential buyers. More

Shares in VNU, owner of ACNielsen and Nielsen Media Research, rose more than 4% on Friday after reports that two private equity firms were considering making bids for the Netherlands-based company. More

Three new reports give varying degrees of encouragement to the advertising industry. Nielsen Media Research highlights healthy growth in the US, and the UK’s Advertising Association forecasts long-term growth in display, while ZenithOptimedia’s global projections offer most optimism for the Internet... and for market researchers. More

Nielsen Media Research has added an extra 2,000 households to its National People Meter TV measurement sample. This is the first step in a plan to increase the effective sample to 10,000 homes by next year, in order to improve accuracy and allow for more in-depth analysis. More

Nielsen Media Research has created an Asian-Pacific American Advisory Council to advise the company on the best ways to reach Asian Pacific Americans (APAs), and to measure their TV viewing habits. More

erinMedia’s antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen Media Research is set to proceed to trial, after a US District Federal Court ruled yesterday against Nielsen’s attempt to dismiss the suit. The judge deemed erinMedia a viable potential competitor, whose business could be at risk, but dismissed co-plaintiff ReacTV. More

Larry Gerbrandt, former COO and Senior Analyst at Kagan Media, has joined Nielsen Entertainment in the US as Senior VP and Senior Corporate Analyst, reporting to CEO Andy Wing. He will work on strategic analyses of the entertainment industry, including the company’s new ‘Benchmarking the Digital Household’ report. More

Nielsen Media Research is stepping up its evaluation of the use of Portable People Meters (PPMs) for TV audience measurement - a joint venture with Arbitron. Meanwhile, Arbitron has been meeting with radio industry executives to discuss electronic audience measurement, and has appointed a technology expert to its Board. More

For the first time, Nielsen Media Research is to provide direct access to its database of minute-by-minute TV ratings. Clients will be able to access and analyse full information from Nielsen’s National People Meter sample via an electronic file, to be updated each week. More

Frank Maggio, CEO of Erin Media, is poised to announce details of a new ratings service - VAST Ratings - designed to compete with Nielsen’s audience measurement system. Earlier this year, Erin filed an antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen Media Research in a bid to break up its ratings monopoly. More

The US DISH Network satellite TV service has signed an agreement with Nielsen Media Research for a national TV ratings service. The deal allows DISH to use Nielsen’s data for marketing, programming and sales purposes - for example to guarantee companies a specific number of viewers for their ads. More

US marketing information company Claritas has introduced a new product, PRIZM TV Profiles, that combines data from its PRIZM NE lifestyle segmentation system with TV viewing information from Nielsen Media Research’s People Meter service. The launch follows Nielsen’s announcement that US TV viewing is higher than ever before. More

Synovate has achieved 17.9% revenue growth for first half of this year, compared with 14.8% for its parent Aegis Group as a whole. Similarly at VNU, the research division outperforms the rest of the company. Other company results vary, but all point to growth in the MR sector. More

Total US advertising expenditure for the first half of 2005 rose to $70.5 billion, a 4.5% increase from the same period last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Figures from Nielsen Media Research are slightly higher, showing an increase of 5.7% over the same period. More

Nielsen Media Research and software producer Anystream are working together to automatically encode Video On Demand (VOD) content, so that it can be easily incorporated into audience measurement systems. Nielsen is due to include VOD in its TV ratings service from next year. More

US-based Nielsen Media Research International has acquired South Korea’s largest advertising monitoring and intelligence companies - Korea Advanced Digital Data (KADD) and its subsidiary BasisNet. More

Nielsen Media Research and Nielsen Entertainment are collaborating on a new research study to assess the factors behind the effectiveness of product placements. It will analyse the influence of the viewer’s relationship with a programme, as well as their familiarity with the brand and type of product. More

This week has seen a rush of activity in the controversy over Nielsen Media’s LPM introduction and Senator Conrad Burns’ FAIR Ratings Act. Leading associations of US advertisers declared their members’ opposition to the bill on Tuesday, while Nielsen’s critics spoke out before a Senate Committee on Wednesday. More

TV ratings provider erinMedia has announced an exclusive Strategic Alliance Agreement with Atlanta-based Navigauge, Inc, agreed by the boards and likely to lead to the acquisition of the latter in the fourth quarter of 2005. The agreement would give erinMedia cross-media, sector-specific ratings services across TV, radio, and outdoor. More

The Television Viewer Protection Bill, introduced in the US last week, is calling for increased regulation of TV ratings methods. The Bill is the latest step in the controversy surrounding Nielsen’s local people meter (LPM) ratings system and its coverage of ‘people of color’. More

Angela Mariana Freyre has joined Nielsen Media Research as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel for Legal and Strategic Affairs. Freyre, who worked as Nielsen’s counsel for seven years whilst at Coudert Brothers in New York, will oversee contracts, support political affairs, and expand relations with clients. More

The MR landscape is to undergo a seismic shift as VNU, the world’s biggest research provider, buys IMS Health, the next biggest in the US, in a transaction valued at 5.8 billion Euros ($7.0 billion). VNU’s CEO is confident that the deal will quickly lead to major cost savings and new revenues. More

US Senator Conrad Burns has introduced the Fairness, Accuracy, Inclusivity and Responsiveness in Ratings (FAIR Ratings) Act to strengthen existing private sector oversight of US TV ratings. The move reflects the Senator’s feeling that Nielsen Media Research has not co-operated sufficiently with the current authority. More

Nielsen Media Research has implemented staff training, translation services and other measures recommended by last year’s Independent Task Force on Television Measurement. The services are part of a string of measures aimed at better representation of the ethnically and culturally diverse TV audience. More

In the latest episode of the Local People Meter (LPM) controversy, US TV ratings company Nielsen Media Research claims that its new measurement system is actually giving higher ratings to shows with an African-American theme or cast, countering critics’ claims that they ‘under-represent people of color’. More

Nielsen Media Research has announced an extension of its collaborative relationship with Time Warner Inc. The existing TV audience estimate contract ran for seven years from 1998 – it will now run until at least 2008. More

In the USA, Nielsen Media Research has announced that it has acquired AudioAudit, a leading provider of broadcast verification technology services for the advertising industry. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. More

In the USA, Spanish language media company Univision Communications and Nielsen Media Research have agreed to a new contract that will provide comprehensive ratings for Univisions local television stations. More

Nielsen Media Research International has acquired BBC De Media en Reclame Bank B.V. (BBC), the biggest ad spend intelligence company in the Netherlands, for an undisclosed sum. More

Nielsen Media Research has publicised disclosures made by its opponents in the LPM debate, confirming the heavy involvement of News Corp in the Don’t Count Us Out campaign. The lobbying firm involved also admitted directing a campaign of calls to Nielsen execs which shut down their corporate switchboard. More

America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has told Congress that it will not be formally monitoring the accuracy of media ratings, and that it believes Nielsen did not misrepresent its Local People Meters or fail to disclose ‘material facts’ about the system. The Commission says self-regulation via the Media Rating Council appears to be working. More

Nielsen Monitor-Plus has announced an enhancement to its outdoor advertising measurement service, increasing the number of co-operating outdoor companies and bringing the total number of US markets measured to over 150. More

Nielsen Media Research yesterday made public, and welcomed, the content of the report of The Independent Task Force on Television Measurement. The Task Force was established last year as an independent body, amid the controversy over Local People Meters and their measurement of the viewing behaviour of people of colour. More

Audience measurement giant Nielsen Media Research has appointed Howard Shimmel as Senior Vice President, Client Insights. Shimmel has worked for the company before, on beginning his career in media industry research in 1979. Most recently, he was VP, Market Research at AOL. More

VNU has announced that its subsidiary Nielsen Media Research International has successfully closed its 30-country joint venture TV ratings deal with WPP’s AGB Group, announced on 5th August last year. More

Advertising tracking specialist Nielsen Monitor-Plus has extended its coverage to provide brand-level detail for spot radio in the US. The system now reports on more than 500 radio stations, representing a growth of 68%, and measures more than 50% of all US advertising spend. More

Nielsen Media Research will launch a branding advertising campaign in the US in February, promoting its accurate reporting of TV viewing by all different kinds of people, led by the slogan 'Every View Counts'. The move follows a year of controversy over the launch of its Local People Meters. More

Nielsen Media Research and Univision Communications, Inc, have announced that they have dropped litigation against each other, relating to the use of Local People Meters (LPMs). More

Nielsen Media Research and NBC Universal have announced the signing of a seven-year contract for audience measurement services covering all of NBC Universal’s national and local television businesses, the largest ever of its kind. More

Following recent endorsement by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Neilsen’s controversial Local People Meters (LPMs) have received further support from Kweisi Mfume, President and CEO of the NAACP, who describes the new system as ‘a vastly improved way of measuring television viewership’. More

Nielsen Media Research and the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) recently announced the formation of a major research alliance designed to significantly enhance Nielsens ability to more successfully measure television viewing habits among Latinos in the United States. More

A further salvo in the battle over Local People Meters: Nielsen Media Research announced yesterday that the methodology has been endorsed by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow / PUSH Coalition and arguably the USA’s best known politician of color (at least until Don King’s convention performance last week). More

The AGB Group and Nielsen Media Research International have today announced a 50/50 joint venture that will offer television ratings in 30 countries. AGB Group’s TV audience measurement services will merge with those wholly owned by Nielsen Media Research International. The deal does not include Nielsen’s US TV ratings service. More

In the latest exchange of the long-running controversy surrounding PPMs, LPMs and their supposed under-representation of certain groups, Nielsen have issued a statement responding to Fox Television's appeal for government regulation of television ratings. More

Arbitron and Nielsen Media Research have announced substantially improved results in their recruitment and maintenance of panels for the PPM. More

A review commissioned in May by Nielsen Media Research but conducted by an independent body has concluded that criticisms of Nielsen’s methodology for measuring ethnic audiences made by Rincón and Associates ‘Latino Television Study’ were not solidly supported. More

Four new members have this week been added to the TV measurement Task Force assessing Nielsen Media Research’s representation of people of colour. Among the four – who arrive just in time for the Task Force’s first meeting - is George Takei, alias Star Trek’s Mr Sulu. More

With the launch of its controversial Local People Meters (LPMs) in Chicago scheduled for August 5, Nielsen Media Research has announced the appointment of PR veteran Cheryl Pearson-McNeil as Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs. More

Nielsen Media Research’s tribulations with the launch of its Local People Meter are continuing. In the same week that NMR announced a high profile task force to ensure fairness, a leading Spanish-language media company has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop its ‘false and misleading’ advertising and the use of data based on ‘flawed sampling’. More

From today (June 3rd), Nielsen Media Research is offering Local People Meter (LPM) data in New York. The new system will run in parallel with the old Meter/Diary system for a transition period of three months, with either set of data allowed for commercial use. More

Further moves in the saga of Nielsen’s local people meters and their representation of ethnic audiences. Nielsen Media Research has announced that it has contracted with the University of Southern California’s Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), to review the findings of a Latino Television Study which questioned Nielsen’s techniques. More

Following criticisms by News Corporation last month and the subsequent postponement of its New York People Meter launch, Nielsen Media Research has announced an increase in its samples of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans both at the local and national level, and given details of the numbers involved. More

Nielsen Media Research has postponed the NYC launch of its ‘people meter’ system to June 3rd, under pressure from News Corp and various political figures / groups. A task force including Congressman Charles Rangel, whose district includes Harlem, will help Nielsen look into concerns that the system undercounts minority audiences. More

Trouble - of rather different sorts - for audience measurement providers on both sides of the Atlantic. The UK’s radio audience research body RAJAR is being sued for £66m, while in the US Nielsen Media Research has been criticised by News Corporation over its imminent launch of People Meter technology in New York. More

Nielsen Media Research have signed an agreement with digital video recording (DVR) pioneers TiVo to deliver information on DVR usage to advertisers and television executives. Data will be collected from an Opt-In panel of TiVo’s standalone subscribers. More

Recent figures from Nielsen Media Research put the total number of television households in the USA (including Alaska and Hawaii) at an estimated 108,400,000. This represents an increase of 1.7 million television households, or 1.6%, from the 2002-2003 season. More

Audience measurement leader Nielsen Media Research has enhanced its Monitor-Plus advertising intelligence service with the introduction of Quick*Views, a web-based product providing instant access to summary-level US ad spend information. More

Advertising spending for the first half of 2003 rose 2.8% versus first half 2002, according to preliminary figures released last week by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising information service of Nielsen Media Research. The fastest growth was in Hispanic TV (19%), National Magazines (c.14%) and Local Newspapers (c.10%). More

Scarborough Research and Nielsen Media Research in the US have recently formed a partnership to offer the NSI Profiler-a new qualitative television rating which combines Nielsen Station Index (NSI) ratings with Scarborough’s qualitative consumer indices. More

With strong backing from key broadcasting and cable clients, Nielsen Media Research has recently announced a rollout schedule for bringing continuous, overnight demographic ratings into the top 10 television markets in the U.S. Nielsen will initially launch electronic People Meter ratings service in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco next year. More

Nielsen Media Research, a subsidiary of VNU Media Measurement & Information, has reached a landmark, seven-year agreement with NBC in the States to provide audience measurement services to all of NBC’s national and local television businesses. More

Advertising spending for 2002 in the USA rose nearly 6% over 2001, fueled by gains across most major media, according to preliminary figures released by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising information service of Nielsen Media Research. More

Nielsen Media Research and Ucentric Systems have announced an agreement to create television audience measurement software that will track usage of personal video recorders on multiple television sets. Many digital set-top boxes will be powered by Ucentric Multi-TV PVR applications. More

Advertising spending through the third quarter of 2002 rose 3.8% over the same period last year, fuelled by gains across most major media, according to preliminary figures recently released by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, a service of Nielsen Media Research. More

Arbitron has recently announced an update on the status of its Portable People Meter development programme in the USA, a new radio, television and cable audience ratings technology that Arbitron has been testing in Philadelphia since the fourth quarter of 2000. More

Simmons Market Research Bureau in the US has recently introduced Simmons Behaviorgraphics a proprietary data integration technique that links data from the Simmons National Consumer Study with Nielsen Media Research's National People Meter database using segments based on similarity of viewing behaviours in the two databases. More

Arbitron Inc has this week announced that it will expand its Portable People Market trial in the United States. More

England versus Argentina proved to be the most popular match with FIFA World Cup viewers during the week of June 3-9. It succeeded in capturing the largest overall audience so far, placing it within the top five worldwide, according to new Nielsen Media Research data. More

More than 31 million people tuned in to see Senegal’s first-round victory over France in the 2002 FIFA World Cup - making it the most-watched match of the opening weekend (May 31) - according to preliminary audience estimates for 17 countries released this week by Nielsen Media Research. More

Nielsen Media Research (International) has predicted an overall global ad spend recovery for the second half of 2002. In a study released recently, Nielsen has detailed how spend in the world’s 14 key ad markets fell by 5 percent during 2001, with a modest total upturn now due by the end of 2002. More

Marketing, media and research giant VNU has just completed two in-depth, one-day presentations in both London and New York. More

The chairman and CEO of VNU media research business, Michael P. Connors, has announced that the Nielsen brand name is to be expanded to all international markets and also linked to the company's global entertainment information businesses. More

Susan D. Whiting has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Nielsen Media Research, the US television ratings company, effective from the beginning of next year. She had been President and Chief Operating Officer since May of this year and first joined the company in the late 1970s. More

Starting with the May sweep in 2002, Nielsen Media Research is to use People Meters as its standard methodology for collecting television audience estimates in Boston in the USA. More

Feasibility testing of the Arbitron Portable People Meter (PPM) system has progressed on from its first US phase. PPM has now moved into a test phase with the help of Nielsen Media Research involving the greater Philadelphia DMA. More

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