Ratings are a metric—always have been and always will be. It’s the most recognized measurement most sports radio brands are held to nationwide as an indicator of success or failure. To establish a sports radio station’s ratings success story, one must subscribe to Nielsen’s service to access those figures. Many advertising agencies rely on them to decide where to buy and who to partner with.
The system makes sense in theory. A radio company buys a service trusted by advertisers. Stations receive ad buys based on their purchase of the measurement. It’s a potential return on investment for everyone involved—the sports radio station, Nielsen, and the advertiser looking to reach their target audience.
But it’s now 2025. Advertisers have shifted their dollars from terrestrial to digital more than ever before. Local radio broadcasters have begun moving away from Nielsen measurement, crafting their own metrics to sell to advertisers. The story a sports radio brand tells about itself is changing with the times. Yet many companies continue to invest in a model trying to game its own system just to stay relevant. Why should they continue to do so?
Cumulus Heads To Court
On Friday, Cumulus Media filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen, claiming the company engaged in “coercive conduct, strong-arm negotiation tactics, and restrictive terms” that harm radio broadcasters and suffocate measurement competitors.
This dispute stems from an alleged “tying policy” Nielsen introduced last September that changed how networks with locally owned stations must purchase ratings data. To simplify, Cumulus Media owns Westwood One, a syndicator of national talk and play-by-play content. In some markets, Cumulus owns a single local radio station that carries that programming.
The lawsuit alleges that in order for Cumulus to access national data for those markets—including the one where it owns that single local station. It must also buy the local data measurement from Nielsen. Otherwise, that market would be excluded from the national data.
If you don’t buy locally, you don’t show up locally. Iif you don’t show up locally, you don’t show up nationally.
The suit cites a July 25, 2025, call between Cumulus representatives and Nielsen Audio Managing Director Rich Tunkel. During that conversation, Tunkel allegedly admitted that a national ratings product without full geographic coverage “would be Swiss cheese” and “not the ‘real’ or a ‘useful’ product.” Cumulus argues that this confirms Nielsen’s tying arrangement. Effectively forcing companies to buy local data packages to get a full national picture.
Cumulus Media is no different from any other broadcast company in today’s media landscape. It’s trying to keep the lights on just like Audacy, iHeartMedia, or any other radio company. Cutting costs and increasing revenue with fewer resources is a constant challenge—and owning a national syndicator makes that balance even tougher.
After reporting a 9.2% year-over-year drop in net income for the second quarter, it’s easy to understand why Cumulus would push back against Nielsen’s “forceful hand” and question why it should invest in local ratings data that don’t fully benefit its larger, more profitable national syndication business.
But it’s worth asking: Is Nielsen still the best “ratings currency” a sports radio brand can buy?
Pave a New Road
Nielsen is not perfect, and its measurement isn’t either. In recent years, broadcasters have developed their own first-party data—both as an enhancement to existing measurement and as a potential replacement. Why not tell your own story with your own data instead of relying on someone else’s?
Of course, that requires investment—not only in people but also in technology. As Dolly Parton once said, if you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.
Nielsen, meanwhile, must continually market itself to radio companies. When confidence in its data starts to erode, it tweaks its methods to keep customers happy. Remember when Nielsen introduced wearables in 2021 to align with the popularity of smartwatches? It took that long to evolve from a pager to a wristwatch or pendant.
Or take last year, when Nielsen shortened its listening requirement—from five minutes to just three—to qualify for a full quarter hour of credit. That means listeners now need to tune in for only 20% of a 15-minute period to count for the entire segment. The move was pitched as a response to declining attention spans, but let’s be honest: if it inflates a station’s audience, it helps Nielsen keep its clients happy.
Draw Your Own Map
This constant quid pro quo between Nielsen and radio is disappointing, and both sides share the blame. Radio continues to struggle to develop its own data while cutting staff, and Nielsen keeps moving the goalposts to make it appear that more people are listening. In turn, radio keeps investing in a product that no longer reflects reality.
In the case of Cumulus, perhaps the right move isn’t a lawsuit—it’s cancellation. Several broadcasters have already walked away from Nielsen and thrived by selling their story directly to advertisers. They’ve leaned on their local talent as partners, developing their own success metrics and rate structures to keep clients engaged and excited to collaborate. Why can’t this work on a national scale with national advertisers and have Cumulus be the example for others to rally around?
Does the industry need another option besides Nielsen? Of course.
Do broadcasters need to do a better job developing and promoting their own data? Absolutely.
Will a lawsuit against Nielsen change anything in the foreseeable future? Unlikely.
Radio keeps waiting for Nielsen to draw a better map when it should be building its own GPS. The longer the industry clings to a measurement system designed for a world that no longer exists, the further it drifts from the audience it’s desperate to prove it still has.
The companies that survive won’t be the ones arguing over numbers. They’ll be the ones brave enough to stop letting Nielsen tell them what counts.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
