TV ratings leader Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. dies

(CBS/AP) WINNETKA, Ill. – The man whose name is synonymous with TV ratings has died at the age of 92.

Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., who led the company that grew into an international market research firm known for producing the TV ratings called “the Nielsens,” died Monday in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka.

His family says he’d suffered from Parkinson’s disease.

Nielsen joined his father’s company, A.C. Nielsen Co., in 1945 after serving in World War II.

He became the company’s president in 1957 and took over as chairman in 1975. Under his direction, the company became a leader in compiling TV viewership data. He stepped down under the company’s strict retirement policy in 1983 to become chairman emeritus. In that role, he engineered the company’s sale to Dun & Bradstreet Corp. for $1.3 billion in stock in 1984.

The company later was acquired by Dutch publishing company VNU. It went public in January as Nielsen Holdings N.V.

Nielsen’s wife, Patricia, died in 2005. He is survived by two sons, Arthur III and Chris; a daughter, 실시간 축구 Elizabeth Cocciarelli; a brother, Philip; two sisters, Margaret Stiegele and the Rev. Barbara Nielsen; and seven grandchildren.