Nielsen Names a New CEO

Nielsen is shaking up its leadership, tapping veteran executive Karthik Rao as chief executive of the media ratings juggernaut, succeeding David Kenny, who will become executive chairman, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal reports Kenny said in a memo to staff that he will focus on assisting Rao on “industry-related issues and relationships where I can be of help.” Kenny, a veteran of the ad industry, had been chief executive of Nielsen for five years. 

In an interview, Kenny said he has made a commitment to stay but reiterated that Rao is in charge. “This isn’t a trial period. I serve him because he asked me to,” Kenny said. 

Karthik Rao

The new CEO comes on the heels of last year’s acquisition of Nielsen by private-equity firms Elliott Investment Management and Brookfield Business Partners in a deal valued at about $10 billion.

David Kerko, Elliott’s head of private equity, said in a statement that Rao was the right leader for a time of dramatic change in the media industry. 

Rao, a 23-year Nielsen veteran who most recently served as chief executive of its Audience Measurement Unit, takes over at a tumultuous time for the ratings firm. Nielsen faces both increased competition and a rapidly shifting media landscape that has made measurement methodologies more complex. The shift toward streaming services has prompted some ad buyers and ad sellers to look to alternative measurement companies. 

Nielsen is also trying to restore confidence with its customers after its national TV ratings accreditation was stripped for nearly two years by the Media Rating Council, the media industry’s measurement watchdog. Nielsen ratings are the metrics that underpin the billions of dollars spent annually on TV ads.

The MRC in April restored the accreditation, though its executive director said Nielsen had more work to do to ensure it continues to meet the group’s standards. Nielsen was able to remain the dominant metric used in TV deals even while its accreditation was suspended because of its size and legacy position in the market, but the episode did allow other players to gain some traction in the measurement space.  

The media business is now littered with measurement companies, but ad buyers don’t believe there is one measurement company that can completely replace Nielsen yet. Other companies that measure TV and streaming viewership include outfits such as Comscore, iSpot.TV and VideoAmp. 

“Nielsen has been my home for most of my career, and I could not be more excited for this new opportunity,” said Rao. “Providing our client partners, the ad industry, and content creators of all types, the most accurate information possible is our singular goal. Nielsen invented measurement a century ago. In that time, the way audiences consume content has fundamentally shifted many times over, and we are committed to continuing to partner with our customers to lead that change. I am fortunate to work alongside the best in the business, around the world, as we address unprecedented times of transition in our business. Together with our talented employees, I look forward to positioning Nielsen for the next century and beyond.”

David Kenny said: “This is an exciting day for Nielsen and for me. I have been fortunate to lead this company through some extraordinary times in the past five years, working alongside Karthik for much of it. As I transition to my new role and my operating responsibilities come to an end, I hand over leadership to someone with extensive experience in knowing what Nielsen does best, backed by the skills and understanding to position the company for a vibrant future. He has my complete support and I wish him, and everyone at Nielsen, nothing but tremendous success.”

Since early 2023, Rao has served as CEO of Nielsen’s Audience Measurement business, responsible for driving and evolving Nielsen’s audience measurement in the midst of unprecedented disruption and transition. His primary focus has been on enabling a currency across all media distribution and consumption models globally.

Prior to being named CEO of the audience measurement business, Rao served as Nielsen’s Chief Operating Officer. Before that he was the CEO of Nielsen Portfolio, leading the fully independent division comprising Nielsen Entertainment, Nielsen Gracenote, Nielsen Brandbank and the Nielsen Telecom businesses across all global markets.