ACNielsen eRatings.com Global Client List Triples; Including the U.S., Global Total Now Stands at 520

Business Editors

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2000

Agency, Corporate and Internet Industry Leaders

Subscribe to Service in 15 Countries

Continuing its rapid growth as the world's leading provider of global Internet audience information, ACNielsen eRatings.com today announced that 95 new clients have subscribed to the international Nielsen//NetRatings Internet audience measurement service in the second quarter, adding to the 55 global clients signed in the first quarter and bringing the year-to-date total to 150 clients across 15 countries.

ACNielsen eRatings.com is a venture between ACNielsen Corporation (NYSE: ART) and NetRatings, Inc., (NASDAQ: NTRT). Including the US, the Nielsen//NetRatings service now has more than 520 clients worldwide.

"By leveraging the strength of ACNielsen's global expertise, we continue to make rapid progress toward establishing Nielsen//NetRatings as the global currency for Internet measurement," said Michael P. Connors, vice chairman of ACNielsen. "We now have high-quality panels reporting global data, while prestigious clients in 15 countries have subscribed to the service."

Leading Clients

Clients who subscribed to the Nielsen//NetRatings service outside the US in the second quarter include: British Telecom, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Co., Microsoft, Philips Electronics, Intel, Reuters, Saatchi & Saatchi, Tesco plc and Yahoo!.

Connors also noted that ACNielsen eRatings.com has contracted an additional $1.8 million in revenue in the second quarter, for a first-half total of $3 million. "Advertising agencies, financial institutions, corporate marketers and Internet companies worldwide are recognizing the unique value of Nielsen//NetRatings' accurate, timely information," he said. "We are confident that our success in growing this business worldwide is representative of the success our Internet audience measurement information will bring our clients."

Global Reach

Nielsen//NetRatings is reporting data on Internet audience activity in the US, Japan, Australia, the UK, Singapore, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada, and has introduced the service in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Brazil and Hong Kong in the second quarter, with local data expected in those markets in the third quarter.

In total, Nielsen//NetRatings panels now have more than 150,000 individuals under measurement, representing the world's largest real-time Internet audience measurement panel.

About Nielsen//NetRatings

The Nielsen//NetRatings service uses unique technology capable of measuring both Internet use and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data and advertising information in the global marketplace. Nielsen//NetRatings leverages proprietary data-collection technology from NetRatings, Nielsen Media Research's 50 years of expertise in research and audience measurement, and ACNielsen's international leadership in supplying market research information covering more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.

NetRatings (Nasdaq: NTRT) provides Internet audience measurement and analysis services that enable its customers to make informed decisions regarding their Internet strategies. NetRatings delivers accurate and timely information collected from a representative sample of Internet users and augments it with detailed, flexible reporting and in-depth analyses.

ACNielsen eRatings.com is a venture between ACNielsen (NYSE: ART) and NetRatings Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRT). ACNielsen is the world's leading market research firm, offering measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics, consumer attitudes and behavior, and new and traditional media in more than 100 countries, and NetRatings is the leading provider of Internet audience measurement technology and analysis. Through the Nielsen//NetRatings service, ACNielsen eRatings.com is creating the first global service for tracking audiences, advertising and user activity on the Internet in more than 30 countries worldwide.

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 release and other ACNielsen news on the Internet at http://acnielsen.com. For additional information about NetRatings, Inc., see www.netratings.com.

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