Cumulus Media, which owns hundreds of radio stations across the country, alleges that Nielsen is illegally conditioning access to its national data on the purchase of its local product.
MANHATTAN (CN) – The Second Circuit blocked radio ratings provider Nielsen on Monday from implementing a policy change that would have required its nationwide data subscribers to also purchase its local ratings data.
The policy has already been blocked since January, when a federal judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction on behalf of Cumulus Media, which owns hundreds of radio stations across the United States and filed an antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen over the rule change.
In one Order with 55 pagesThe Second Circuit held that the lower court’s injunction was justified in finding Cumulus made a “strong showing of irreparable harm” because of the policy.
“We find that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Nielsen effectively forced Cumulus to buy its local data in certain markets that Cumulus otherwise did not want,” the three-judge appeals panel opined. “We also find that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Nielsen’s conduct had anticompetitive effects in the related market or in rejecting the procompetitive justification offered by Nielsen.”
In its 2025 lawsuit, Cumulus claims the new requirements run afoul of federal and state antitrust laws by making access to its national data conditional on its purchase of local analytics. In doing so, Cumulus argues that Nielsen is abusing its dominance of national and local radio audience data to squeeze more money from its customers and stifle its opponents.
Cumulus contends that this anticompetitive behavior prevented it from acting as an arm’s length buyer—it had hoped to buy only Nielsen’s national data and obtain local analytics from one of its competitors.
Cumulus sent Nielsen a cease-and-desist letter in the matter, accusing it of violating antitrust law, and Nielsen agreed to drop its policy by offering Cumulus an independent price for its national product only.
However, the lower court ruled that this independent offer was “so exorbitantly priced” – 10 times more than what is usually paid for national statistics – that it did not give Cumulus a meaningful choice at all.
“We agree,” the Second Circuit ruled Monday. “We conclude that Nielsen’s cost-warranted and ‘excessive’ stand-alone offer to Nationwide within the context of the negotiations here rises to the level of coercion by effectively forcing Cumulus to purchase unwanted local market data from Nielsen.”
The court also agreed with the District Court’s finding that “Nielsen’s conduct had anticompetitive effects in the related market.”
“This conduct forced the acquisition of related local data products and limited competition in those markets,” the judges found. “And it is precisely the kind of ‘economic pressure’ that we have said is the hallmark of binding obligations.”
Behind Monday’s ruling are US District Judge Myrna Perez, a Joe Biden appointee; US District Judge Alison Nathan, another Biden appointee; and US Court of International Trade Judge Gary S. Katzmann, appointed by Barack Obama.
Spokespeople for Nielsen and Cumulus did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Complicating matters is Cumulus’ ongoing bankruptcy filing, which the company attributes — at least in part — to its dispute with Nielsen. A bankruptcy judge in April greenlit a restructuring deal that will cut $592 million of Cumulus’ debt and give control of the company to its lenders.
Cumulus owns and operates 395 radio stations in 84 media markets across the country. Networks like it rely on data from Nielsen, which sells radio ratings analytics, to sell airtime to advertisers. And as a result of Nielsen’s new policy, Cumulus claims hundreds of millions of dollars in trade have been affected.
It is seeking monetary damages and a permanent injunction blocking Nielsen from implementing the controlled rule change.
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