A.C. Nielsen Company

American company

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July 23, 2026

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The A.C. Nielsen Company, founded in 1923 by Arthur C. Nielsen, became a leading global market-research firm. Initially focusing on retail sales analysis for food and drug stores, the company later expanded into radio and television program ratings.1

The company is best known for its "Nielsen ratings," which began in 1950 to gauge television show popularity. These ratings are based on data collected from a sample of households using devices called Audimeters, which record viewing habits. The ratings project the total audience size and demographics for each program, influencing advertising rates and decisions about program continuation or cancellation. While the advent of streaming and digital recording has impacted their traditional influence, Nielsen continues to adapt its measurement methods.12

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A.C. Nielsen
…his fraternity brothers, he founded A.C. Nielsen Co., which eventually became the largest market-research concern in the world. In the early years the company had difficulties, almost going bankrupt twice, but it finally established a business foothold by analyzing retail food and drug sales, which thereafter remained the company’s largest…
Read More
…his fraternity brothers, he founded A.C. Nielsen Co., which eventually became the largest market-research concern in the world. In the early years the company had difficulties, almost going bankrupt twice, but it finally established a business foothold by analyzing retail food and drug sales, which thereafter remained the company’s largest…
Read More

radio
Ratings systems
…measured audience response was the A.C. Nielsen Co., which provided thousands of listeners with a mechanical device called an audiometer. On paper tape, a stylus would scratch a signal showing which station a radio was tuned to during every moment that it was in use.
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…measured audience response was the A.C. Nielsen Co., which provided thousands of listeners with a mechanical device called an audiometer. On paper tape, a stylus would scratch a signal showing which station a radio was tuned to during every moment that it was in use.
Read More

Television in the United States
Reorganization and deregulation
In 1987 the A.C. Nielsen company, which had been purchased by Dun and Bradstreet in 1984, introduced a new technique for measuring ratings in its national market sample. The “people meter” not only measured when a TV set was turned on and the channel to which it was…
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In 1987 the A.C. Nielsen company, which had been purchased by Dun and Bradstreet in 1984, introduced a new technique for measuring ratings in its national market sample. The “people meter” not only measured when a TV set was turned on and the channel to which it was…
Read More