FIRST OFF . . .

The A.C. Nielsen Co., principal tabulators of audience numbers for network television, unaccountably delayed its usual Tuesday report of TV show ratings and rankings, first advising its clients that the ratings would be delayed several hours, but later stating the charts would not be available for publication until today. Last week’s ratings are critical to the networks, since they measure the fall season debuts of several new shows. On Sept. 1, Nielsen introduced a controversial new “people meter” ratings system that measures individual viewers as well as households.