




Press release

Date           January 24, 2001


               VNU ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF TENDER OFFER FOR ACNIELSEN

               Haarlem, The Netherlands - VNU announced that its wholly owned
               subsidiary, Artist Acquisition, Inc., is extending its offer to
               purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of ACNielsen
               Corporation (NYSE: ART) for USD 36.75 per share, net to seller in
               cash, until 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on Tuesday,
               February 6, 2001. The offer had previously been scheduled to
               expire on January 23, 2001. The terms of the extended offer
               otherwise are identical to the offer as set forth in offering
               materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
               December 22, 2000, as amended.

               The waiting period with respect to the offer under the
               Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the 'HSR
               Act') expired at 11:59 p.m. on January 2, 2001. Accordingly, the
               condition to the offer requiring the expiration or termination of
               the waiting period under the HSR Act has been satisfied.

               VNU has received a positive advice from its Central Works'
               Council with respect to the bank facility and related guarantee
               being entered into by VNU in connection with the financing of the
               offer. Accordingly, the condition of the offer requiring positive
               advice of the Works' Council has been satisfied.

               VNU notified the European Commission of the transaction pursuant
               to the European Union Merger Control Regulation. In the absence
               of a finding by the European Commission that the transaction
               raises serious doubts as to its compatibility with the European
               Common Market, the European Commission will issue, or will be
               deemed to have issued, a decision declaring the transaction to be
               compatible with the European Common Market by February 12, 2001.

               According to Citibank N.A., the depositary for the offer, as of
               the close of business on January 23, 2001, a total of 44,431,060
               shares of common stock of ACNielsen, or approximately 75% of the
               59,577,043 shares issued and outstanding, had been validly
               tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the offer (including
               shares tendered via guarantee of delivery).


               Press contacts:     Maarten Schikker, telephone + 31 23 546 36 00
               Investor Relations: Rob de Meel, telephone +31 23 546 36 68
               website:            news.vnu.com
                                   ------------


               VNU is one of the world's leading media and information companies
               and has leading market positions in marketing & media
               information, business information, directories, consumer
               information, as well as educational information. Worldwide, VNU
               employs approximately 16,000 people and has annual revenues of
               more than EUR 2.8 billion (1999).

               ACNielsen, with 21,000 employees and annual revenues of more than
               USD 1.5 billion, 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. ACNielsen's clients include leading








               Corporate Communications
               P.O. Box 1, 2000 MA Haarlem, The Netherlands/
               Telephone +31 23 546 36 00/Fax +31 23 546 39 12
               news.vnu.com


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Press release

Date           January 24, 2001
Page           2 of 2


               consumer product manufacturers and retailers, service firms,
               media and entertainment companies and the Internet community.


               The offer for all the outstanding shares of ACNielsen common
               stock is being made through, and the foregoing announcement is
               qualified in its entirety by reference to, Artist Acquisition,
               Inc.'s Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, including the Offer
               to Purchase dated December 22, 2000, and the related letter of
               transmittal, which can be obtained for free, along with other
               filed documents, at the SEC's website www.sec.gov. ACNielsen
               stockholders should read the Offer to Purchase and related letter
               of transmittal in their entirety before making any decision as to
               whether to tender their shares into the offer.


