The deal will give Nielsen the data and technology behind the programme guides and personalised user experience for major video, music, audio and sports content.

Gracenote provides reference information for more than 12 million movie and television listings and 200 million music tracks.

Gracenote’s intelligent metadata will become part of the Nielsen Total Audience measurement framework. The data will also help media companies with content for specific audiences.

Karthik Rao, president, expanded verticals at Nielsen, said: "Gracenote’s metadata and content recognition technology fuels the interfaces of the major video, music and in-car infotainment systems that consumers engage with every day. This acquisition provides Nielsen with a significant asset in our mission of measuring and understanding consumer behaviour."

The deal should be finalised in the first quarter of 2017 and will be financed through a combination of cash and debt.

Gracenote will be incorporated into Nielsen’s Watch segment and will operate as a business unit within Nielsen. It will continue to operate from its headquarters in Emeryville, California.