Here’s a sign that Web-only shows are now going neck and neck with television: Nielsen, the well-known ratings-data analyst, will begin rating new AOL original series. AOL is the first digital client to get Nielsen’s ratings for its original shows. AOL announced Tuesday that it’s coming out with a slew of new shows — 16 to be exact — which feature actors and producers including James Franco, Steve Buscemi, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zoe Saldana, Ellen DeGeneres, and more. A few of the series were announced earlier this month, such as the long-form series “Connected.” The rest of the shows are newly announced. This isn’t AOL’s first foray into Web-based original content — in April 2013, the company unleashed 15 different series. In the new relationship with Nielsen, AOL’s 16 series will be measured with digital ratings in a beta test. The ratings will take an audience measurement of the shows and then deliver “gross ratings points” to show what type of people are watching the programs.