 nielsen audio (formerly arbitron) is a consumer research company in the united states that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. it was founded as the american research bureau by jim seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with los angeles-based coffin, cooper, and clay in the early 1950s. the company's initial business was the collection of broadcast television ratings. the company changed its name to arbitron in the midâ1960s, the namesake of the arbitron system, a centralized statistical computer with leased lines to viewers' homes to monitor their activity. deployed in new york city, it gave instant ratings data on what people were watching. a reporting board lit up to indicate which homes were listening to which broadcasts. on december 18, 2012, the nielsen company announced that it would acquire arbitron, its only competitor, for us$1.26 billion. the acquisition closed on september 30, 2013, and the company was re-branded as nielsen audio. as a condition of the deal to allow a monopoly, nielsen must license its ratings data and technology to a third party for eight years.{{cite web|title=nielsen deal for arbitron is complete|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/business/media/nielsen-comple
Audience_measurement Companies_based_in_Columbia,_Maryland Companies_listed_on_the_New_York_Stock_Exchange Marketing_research_companies_of_the_United_States