# Nielsen Holdings plc
> Nielsen · New York, New York
- Profile type: Company
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/nielsen/
- Also known as: Nielsen, Nielsen Holdings, The Nielsen Company, Nielsen Media Research, A.C. Nielsen Company
## Summary
The legacy U.S. TV measurement giant. Originator of the monthly Gauge streaming-share report and the Nielsen ONE cross-platform currency. Taken private in October 2022 for ~$16B by an Elliott- and Brookfield-led consortium; led by CEO Karthik Rao since September 2023.

## Company facts

- Founded: 1923
- Headquarters: New York, New York
- Domain: nielsen.com
- CEO: karthik rao (https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/karthik-rao/)


## Key facts

- Nielsen was founded in 1923 by Arthur C. Nielsen Sr. as the A.C. Nielsen Company, originally selling engineering performance surveys before pioneering market-share measurement and, in 1950, the first national television ratings service. — Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/money/A-C-Nielsen
- An investor consortium led by Evergreen Coast Capital (an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management) and Brookfield Business Partners completed the all-cash acquisition of Nielsen Holdings on October 11, 2022, in a take-private deal valued at approximately $16 billion including assumed debt, with shareholders receiving $28 per share. — Nielsen: https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2022/nielsen-announces-closing-of-transaction-with-evergreen-and-brookfield-led-consortium/
- Karthik Rao was named CEO of Nielsen on September 14, 2023, succeeding David Kenny, who transitioned to Executive Chairman. Rao had previously served as CEO of Nielsen's Audience Measurement business and is a 23-year Nielsen veteran. — Nielsen: https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2023/karthik-rao-named-ceo-of-nielsen/
- On January 22, 2025, the Media Rating Council accredited Nielsen's Big Data + Panel national TV measurement, making Nielsen the first accredited national TV audience measurement provider combining panel data with big-data inputs from approximately 45 million households and 75 million devices. The methodology underpins Nielsen ONE. — Nielsen: https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/2025-the-media-rating-council-accredits-nielsens-innovative-big-data-panel-national-tv-measurement/
- Nielsen publishes The Gauge, a monthly report tracking U.S. television usage share across broadcast, cable, and individual streaming services. It has become the most-cited single source for streaming-share commentary in the trade press. — Nielsen: https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/the-gauge/


## Related

- karthik rao (CEO) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/karthik-rao/
- nielsen one (Flagship cross-platform measurement product) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/nielsen-one/
- videoamp (Cross-platform currency competitor) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/videoamp/
- ispot tv (Cross-platform currency competitor) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/ispot-tv/
- comscore (Cross-platform currency competitor) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/comscore/
- measurement currencies (Core category) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/measurement-currencies/


## External coverage

- Nielsen: Nielsen — corporate site (https://www.nielsen.com/)
- Nielsen: Nielsen — The Gauge (monthly streaming + TV share) (https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2024/the-gauge/)
- 2025-01-22 — Nielsen: MRC Accredits Nielsen's Big Data + Panel National TV Measurement (https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/2025-the-media-rating-council-accredits-nielsens-innovative-big-data-panel-national-tv-measurement/)
- 2022-10-11 — Nielsen: Nielsen Announces Closing of $16B Take-Private Transaction (https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2022/nielsen-announces-closing-of-transaction-with-evergreen-and-brookfield-led-consortium/)
- 2022-10-11 — Variety: Measurement Giant Nielsen Sold to Private-Equity Group for $16 Billion (https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/nielsen-sold-private-equity-measurement-media-1235217649/)

## Profile
Nielsen is the legacy spine of U.S. TV measurement — the company that invented the national television ratings service in 1950 and whose name became the metonym for audience measurement itself. Founded in 1923 by Arthur C. Nielsen Sr. as an industrial-survey shop, it pivoted to consumer and media measurement during the Depression and has held the franchise on national TV currency ever since.

The 2022 take-private reset the company's structure but not its centrality. An Elliott Investment Management and Brookfield consortium closed the $16 billion all-cash acquisition on October 11, 2022, ending a two-decade public-company run. Karthik Rao — a 23-year Nielsen veteran who had been running the Audience Measurement business — succeeded David Kenny as CEO in September 2023, with Kenny moving to Executive Chairman.

The editorial reason Nielsen sits at the center of our coverage is the measurement-currency debate. Nielsen ONE is the company's cross-platform answer to the joint-industry-committee alternatives backed by VideoAmp, iSpot.tv, Comscore, and others under the OpenAP umbrella. The January 2025 MRC accreditation of Nielsen's Big Data + Panel national TV measurement — the first such accreditation for a combined panel + big-data methodology — was the milestone Nielsen used to reassert primacy heading into the 2025 upfront. The Gauge, Nielsen's monthly streaming and TV share report, remains the most-cited single number in trade-press commentary on streaming share, even as independent analysts continue to challenge the methodology.
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- [The State of Streaming Has a Cognition Gap That's Already Repricing CTV Ads](https://thestateofstreaming.com/measurement-data/2026/05/state-of-streaming-cognition-gap-conviva-ads/) — 2026-05-03

## Tags

- measurement
- currency
- mrc-accreditation
- private-equity-owned
- the-gauge
- cross-media
- upfronts
- nielsen-one

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