Cumulus Media has taken its frustrations with Nielsen to federal court, accusing the audience measurement giant of using its dominance in radio ratings to suppress competition and inflate prices across the industry.
The Atlanta-based broadcaster filed its lawsuit in Manhattan federal court this week, alleging that Nielsen has violated federal and state antitrust laws by tying together the sale of its national and local radio ratings products. In short, Cumulus claims Nielsen forces media companies to buy expensive local audience data they may not need in order to gain access to the national ratings that networks like its subsidiary Westwood One rely on.
Nielsen, whose ratings data play a key role in determining the value of audio advertising, quickly dismissed the lawsuit’s allegations. In a statement to Reuters, the company called the complaint “entirely without merit” and said it would “respond accordingly.”
Cumulus, however, argues that Nielsen’s sales structure has created a stranglehold on how radio’s value is measured — and who can afford to measure it. The broadcaster says Nielsen’s policy effectively raises prices, degrades quality, and prevents alternative measurement firms from gaining a foothold in the marketplace.
The complaint further claims that the policy impacts “hundreds of millions of dollars of commerce” across the radio industry. Cumulus maintains that advertisers and broadcasters alike are being squeezed by reduced choice, higher costs, and slower innovation as a result.
Westwood One, Cumulus’s national network arm and the official audio partner of the NFL, depends heavily on reliable national ratings data to secure ad sales and sponsorships. By linking those national numbers to unnecessary local market purchases, Cumulus says Nielsen is leveraging its market power to force companies into paying more than what’s fair or reasonable.
“Cumulus is suing over anticompetitive conduct that we believe is unlawful and damaging,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. “We’re taking this step to protect our business, our advertisers, and the broader radio industry.”
For decades, Nielsen’s ratings have been the currency of both radio and television advertising. But as audio consumption has diversified into streaming, podcasts, and digital platforms, broadcasters have voiced growing concerns about whether the company’s methods and pricing still reflect today’s competitive landscape.
Cumulus, which owns and operates nearly 400 radio stations in more than 80 markets nationwide, is seeking unspecified monetary damages and a court order barring Nielsen from continuing what it describes as unfair and anticompetitive business practices.
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Once again, the LOCAL importance of radio is tossed aside for the NATIONAL footprint. Both sides are villains here: Nielsen IS running a monopoly, overcharging clients for data that comes from too small of a sample pool, with non-subscribers not even showing up. This SHOULD be addressed.
However, Cumulus is a national content company pretending to be local, and their complaint isn’t that Nielsen overcharges or distorts the local numbers; they’re complaining that they have to buy useless local data just to get that sweet, sweet national access they crave. How dare they be forced to pretend for two seconds that they should care about Chattanooga and Biloxi!
We need to be breaking up these under-regulated industries and get back to quality local content, not letting the big guys get bigger.