A Second Circuit judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals has lifted an injunction against Nielsen from Cumulus Media.
On Tuesday, circuit judges John M. Walker, Barrington D. Parker, and Joseph F. Bianco ruled that the injunction from Cumulus be lifted after originally being granted in December by District Judge Jeannette Vargas.
That injunction being lifted now allows Nielsen to re-enact its policy of joining national ratings with the purchase of local market data, at least temporarily.
Cumulus alleged the practice by Nielsen was anti-competitive. The core of the dispute centered on Nielsen’s September 2024 Network Policy. Cumulus, which owns Westwood One, alleged that Nielsen was using its dominance in national ratings to force broadcasters to purchase local market data they might otherwise source from competitors like Eastlan.
Cumulus argued this constituted an illegal “tying” arrangement in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Without the court’s intervention, Cumulus claimed it faced “irreparable harm,” including potential financial ruin and damage to its reputation if it lost access to the Nationwide data essential for its advertising clients. Throughout the proceedings, Nielsen’s legal team pushed back hard, characterizing the lawsuit as a tactical move by a sophisticated company to lower its bills.
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