A.C. Nielsen Jr. of TV ratings fame dies at 92

CHICAGO (AP) — Arthur C. Nielsen Jr., whose family company has been the final word on whether television shows are hot or not for more than a half-century, has died in the suburban Chicago community where he lived most of his life. He was 92.

Nielsen, who died Monday in Winnetka, suffered from Parkinson's disease, his son said.

It was the company founded by his father and then run by Nielsen that created the measurement system under which the entire multibillion-dollar television industry is based and, from the late 1950s on, the name synonymous with U.S. television viewing habits.

Children and parents alike wondered who in their neighborhoods was being contacted and asked about what they were watching or, later, whether Nielsen had attached electronic meters to their TV sets.

Adding to the mystery is Nielsen's closely guarded practice of finding families and keeping them anonymous. Before the meters — currently in 22,000 U.S. homes — families would write "Nielsen diaries" detailing what they watched, and the company used the information to create ratings that came to be known simply as the Nielsens.