ACNielsen and NetRatings To Create First Global Service For Measuring the Internet.

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1999--

Companies to Establish Worldwide Industry Standard

For Tracking Internet Audiences and Advertising

ACNielsen Corporation (NYSE: ART), the world's largest market research firm, and NetRatings, Inc., a leading Internet audience researcher, said today they have formed a venture to launch the first global service for tracking audiences, advertising and user activity on the Internet.

The companies say they expect the new service, marketed under the Nielsen//NetRatings brand, will become the global industry standard by which Internet site publishers, media buyers, marketers and advertisers measure traffic on the Internet.

The venture, known as ACNielsen eRatings.com, will cover Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and begin tracking Internet audiences and advertising by the end of the first quarter next year. ACNielsen has an 80% stake in the business, with NetRatings owning the remainder.

In addition, ACNielsen will purchase a 10% stake in NetRatings for $12.5 million, and Michael P. Connors, ACNielsen's vice chairman, will be appointed to the NetRatings board of directors.

"There is a clear and immediate need for a global industry standard to measure audience behavior and advertising on the Internet, and this venture will provide that standard for clients," said Nicholas L. Trivisonno, chairman and chief executive officer of ACNielsen. "Together, we will offer clients the most reliable and accurate information about the Internet, enabling us to build the world's leading Internet measurement business and create additional long-term value for our shareholders."

David J. Toth, president and chief executive officer of NetRatings, said, "NetRatings' superior technology, combined with ACNielsen's unmatched market coverage and research expertise, enables us to offer the first comprehensive, global view of both traditional media and Internet audiences. This valuable blend of information will allow businesses worldwide to make more effective use of the Internet, and support its continued growth."

Marketed Under Nielsen//NetRatings Brand

Last year, NetRatings announced a strategic alliance with Nielsen Media Research, Inc., to create Nielsen//NetRatings, a leading Internet audience measurement service in the United States and Canada.

The Nielsen//NetRatings service has won widespread acceptance since its launch in March 1999, attracting more than 140 clients, including Yahoo!, Bloomberg, Procter and Gamble, Time Warner, America Online, Reuters, Amazon.com, Viacom, Microsoft, J. Walter Thompson, USA Today, Adobe, Land's End and Chase Manhattan, among others.

ACNielsen and NetRatings say they will also market their service globally under the Nielsen//NetRatings brand. This will enable the companies to create a single, global identity and deliver "one look and feel" to clients worldwide.

ACNielsen's Global Strengths

ACNielsen's global reach and expertise are key elements in the effort to create a single, worldwide standard for Internet audience and advertising measurement.

ACNielsen is already the leader in international media measurement, offering services in more than 40 countries. The company provides television and radio audience ratings, advertising expenditure measurement, print readership services, and custom media research.

In addition, ACNielsen has extensive experience developing and managing statistically valid research panels. These panels, made up of a demographically balanced sample of households, are used to measure consumer purchasing behavior and media audiences around the world.

By leveraging ACNielsen's global coverage and market research expertise, the companies say they expect to be able to quickly establish the Nielsen//NetRatings brand in all of the world's key Internet markets.

ACNielsen will initially introduce the Nielsen//NetRatings service in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with additional markets rapidly coming online thereafter. By the end of 2001, the company said the service is expected to cover more than 30 countries and about 90% of the world's Internet audience.

ACNielsen plans to spend about $50 million over the next two years to roll out the Nielsen//NetRatings service. Although this spending will have a short-term impact on ACNielsen's operating earnings, the company believes that its efforts to create the global Internet standard represent a significant step forward in building long-term value for shareholders.

NetRatings: A Leading Provider of Audience Measurement

NetRatings, based in Milpitas, Calif., has established itself as a leader in Internet audience research. The company has in-depth technical expertise, and its proprietary BannerTrack(SM) data collection software is unique in its ability to track both Internet usage and visitor interaction with advertising banners.

NetRatings provides information across the entire spectrum of Internet user and advertising activity - including the number, frequency and duration of visits to specific sites, detailed data on exposure to ad banners, and user profiles by age, gender, education, occupation, income and ethnicity.

Using NetRatings' innovative tracking technology and real-time data collection systems, the Nielsen//NetRatings service is able to deliver reliable, accurate data to clients on a timely, customized basis.

ACNielsen to Pursue Other Areas of Internet Research 

Mr. Connors, who heads up ACNielsen's Internet and media efforts and will oversee the ACNielsen eRatings.com venture, said he expects ACNielsen will become a leading player in global Internet research.

"Establishing the global industry standard for Internet audience and advertising measurement will position ACNielsen for other Internet growth opportunities, including e-commerce measurement," Mr. Connors said.

In addition to new services for Internet audience ratings, advertising tracking and e-commerce, Mr. Connors said ACNielsen will accelerate the development and marketing of its services that use the Internet to conduct consumer research and deliver information to clients.

In particular, the company will expand its e-Panel services, such as those used by ACNielsen BASES to test consumer reaction to new product concepts, and its ReelResearch.com service, used by ACNielsen EDI for online testing of movie trailers and advertisements for the entertainment industry.

Nielsen Media Research, Inc., is the leading provider of television audience measurement and related services in the United States and Canada. Its services provide audience estimates for all national program sources, including broadcast and cable networks, Spanish-language television, and national syndicators.

NetRatings, Inc., an Internet audience research company, provides Internet advertisers, marketers, site publishers, e-commerce companies and media planners with the most accurate, reliable audience information and analysis available today.

ACNielsen, offering services in over 100 countries and with 1998 revenues of $1.4 billion, is the global leader in delivering market research, information and analysis to the consumer products and services industries.

Forward Looking Statements: Certain statements contained herein are forward looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "could," "should," "plan," "estimated," "potential," "target," "aim" and "goal," among others. In connection with the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, ACNielsen and NetRatings are hereby identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made regarding the venture. Any such statement is qualified by reference to the following cautionary statement.

Risks and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance, development and results of the venture's business include: (i) the likely incurrence of significant losses by the venture while its business is being developed and the difficulty of forecasting future revenues and costs;(ii) the risk that a competing company's Internet audience measurement service will become the accepted standard for Internet audience measurement; (iii) the ability to successfully develop, promote and maintain the Nielsen//NetRatings brand; (iv) the effects on demand for the venture's products and services if the use of the Internet does not continue to grow; (v) the effect that governmental regulation of the Internet could have on the growth of the Internet; (vi) risks relating to the Year 2000 issue, including failures of systems on which the venture relies and failures of the panel members' PCs; (vii) the ability to successfully respond to rapid technological change, including the uncertainties surrounding the emergence of new Internet access devices; (viii) the risks associated with international development of the Internet ratings service, including effecting necessary changes to the existing software to accommodate language and other differences in the jurisdictions in which the venture will operate and the effect of laws and regulatory requirements in such jurisdictions; (ix) the risks involved in collecting personal information from panelists, including the effect of privacy laws in the jurisdictions in which the venture will operate; (x) the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations since so much of the venture's earnings will be generated abroad; (xi) the risk of technical difficulties or service interruptions and the lack of a backup facility in the event of a systems failure at NetRatings' computer operations center in San Jose, California; and (xii) the uncertainties of litigation, including the IRI lawsuit against ACNielsen; as well as other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in the Securities and Exchange Commission filings of the venture partners.

Developments in any of the areas referred to above could cause the results of the venture to differ from projected results. ACNielsen and NetRatings caution that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive and they do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time regarding the venture.

Note to Editors: Look for this press release and a demonstration of the Nielsen//NetRatings service on the Internet at www.acnielsen.com For additional information about Nielsen Media Research, log onto www.nielsenmedia.com; for more on NetRatings, Inc., see www.netratings.com