Federal judge blocks Nielsen’s controversial radio ratings policy

United States District Choose Jeannette A. Vargas granted Cumulus Media New Holdings Inc. a preliminary injunction on December 30, 2025, discovering that the radio broadcaster demonstrated a powerful chance of success in proving Nielsen violated Part 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The ruling prohibits Nielsen from implementing what Cumulus characterised as an anticompetitive “Community Coverage” that ties entry to complete nationwide radio scores knowledge to purchases of separate native scores merchandise.

In keeping with courtroom paperwork filed within the Southern District of New York, Nielsen can be restrained from charging “commercially unreasonable” charges for its Nationwide Report as a standalone product. The order defines affordable pricing as charges equal to or under the very best annual 2026 charge Nielsen prices any broadcaster for the Nationwide product.

The preliminary injunction stays in impact all through the litigation, which might reshape how radio viewers measurement operates throughout the USA. Cumulus posted a $100,000 bond as required beneath the courtroom order.

The grievance’s core allegations

Cumulus filed its antitrust lawsuit on October 16, 2025, alleging that Nielsen maintains monopoly energy in each nationwide radio scores knowledge markets and 80 separate native radio scores knowledge markets the place Cumulus owns stations. The corporate operates almost 400 radio stations throughout the USA and owns Westwood One, which produces nationwide programming together with NFL and NCAA broadcasts.

In keeping with the grievance, Nielsen introduced a brand new coverage in September 2024 that situations the sale of complete nationwide radio scores knowledge to networks with affiliated native stations upon these native stations subscribing to Nielsen’s native radio scores knowledge in each geography the place each Nielsen and the stations function. The coverage meant that if Westwood One wished to obtain full nationwide scores knowledge, each Cumulus-owned native station would wish to buy Nielsen’s native product even in markets the place the station most popular alternate options.

The sensible impact proves stark. Cumulus owns one native radio station in Los Angeles that doesn’t presently buy Nielsen’s Los Angeles native radio scores knowledge. Below the contested coverage, nationwide radio scores knowledge offered to Westwood One would exclude all knowledge from any radio stations in Los Angeles, one of many largest geographies within the nation. This exclusion would happen regardless of Los Angeles knowledge being vital for nationwide advertisers searching for complete viewers attain.

Nielsen govt Wealthy Tunkel characterised the implications on a July 25, 2025 name with Cumulus, describing nationwide scores knowledge with out these excluded geographies as “Swiss cheese” with “holes” that might not represent the “actual” or “helpful” product. Tunkel admitted Nielsen was tying its native and nationwide merchandise collectively, in response to the grievance.

The measurement ecosystem’s construction

Nationwide radio scores knowledge and native radio scores knowledge serve essentially completely different functions within the promoting ecosystem. Native scores measure listening inside a single geographic space, exhibiting how particular person stations carry out towards rivals in viewers measurement, demographics, and time spent listening. Nielsen refers to its complete nationwide product as “Nationwide,” which incorporates radio scores from all geographies Nielsen measures throughout the USA.

Westwood One requires nationwide radio scores knowledge to promote promoting stock to nationwide advertisers and companies. Most nationwide advertisers and promoting companies refuse to buy promoting stock from nationwide networks with out Nielsen’s nationwide radio scores knowledge. When promoting companies problem requests for proposals to nationwide networks like Westwood One, the networks use Nielsen’s nationwide scores knowledge to generate proposals exhibiting promoting stock and charges. Promoting companies then add these proposals to media-buying platforms resembling Mediaocean.

Nationwide networks additionally depend on nationwide scores knowledge for post-buy analyses. If programming fails to garner enough impressions in comparison with what the community promised, the community could also be required to supply extra promoting stock or money funds to make the advertiser complete.

Native radio stations buy native radio scores knowledge to promote promoting stock to native companies and promoting companies concentrating on particular geographies. The native knowledge incorporates metrics necessary to advertisers together with viewers measurement, demographic attain, and time spent listening. Advertisers and companies typically seek the advice of Nielsen’s summary-level native scores knowledge when figuring out which stations to strategy for promoting purchases.

The aggressive panorama

Nielsen faces restricted competitors in native radio scores markets. Eastlan Rankings supplies native scores in some geographies however most regularly operates in areas the place Nielsen doesn’t present knowledge. Upon data and perception said within the grievance, Eastlan has the power, willingness, and incentive to enter new geographies with even a single native station buying its knowledge.

In 75 of the 80 markets the place Cumulus owns stations, Nielsen is the one supplier of native radio scores knowledge, possessing a 100% market share. In 5 markets the place Eastlan additionally supplies knowledge, Nielsen receives the overwhelming majority of income paid for native scores provision.

Nielsen is the only supplier of nationwide radio scores knowledge in the USA. No different firm gives complete nationwide radio scores utilized by nationwide networks, advertisers, and promoting companies to purchase or promote promoting stock.

The measurement firm holds this place regardless of constant value will increase and high quality points. Nielsen unilaterally raised the value of its product offered to Cumulus by virtually 36% in 2022. The corporate misplaced Media Ranking Council accreditation in 17 geographies representing roughly 43% of the entire inhabitants ages 12 and above in geographies measured by Nielsen’s Transportable Folks Meter methodology.

Earlier anticompetitive practices

The Community Coverage represents Nielsen’s newest try to take care of market energy by exclusionary conduct, in response to the grievance. In 2022, Nielsen pressured upon Cumulus its “Subscriber First Coverage,” which excluded all non-subscribing native stations from summary-level native radio scores knowledge sometimes bought by promoting companies.

In consequence, Cumulus was required to buy native radio scores knowledge from Nielsen for geographies the place its stations wished to look in any summary-level knowledge. For instance, Cumulus didn’t subscribe to Memphis native radio scores knowledge from Nielsen regardless of proudly owning native stations there. Nielsen’s exclusion of Cumulus’s Memphis stations from summary-level knowledge resulted in promoting income losses. One promoting company explicitly attributed its choice to cease buying any promoting stock from Cumulus’s native stations to these stations now not showing in Nielsen summary-level knowledge.

The Subscriber First Coverage prevented native radio stations from buying and utilizing Eastlan knowledge. Upon data and perception, the coverage resulted in different native stations buying native radio scores knowledge from Nielsen as an alternative of Eastlan to keep away from elimination from summary-level knowledge.

Notably, Nielsen didn’t implement an analogous coverage for nationwide and native tv scores knowledge supplied to tv networks with affiliated tv stations. Comscore operates as a powerful competitor within the tv market, limiting Nielsen’s capability to take anticompetitive actions in that sector.

Trade influence and limitations to entry

Nielsen’s conduct creates substantial limitations stopping Eastlan and potential rivals from getting into native and nationwide radio scores markets. At each step of the commercial shopping for course of, rivals face systematic exclusion from vital business infrastructure.

Neither Act 1 nor Mediaocean accepts nationwide radio scores knowledge from anybody besides Nielsen. Act 1 supplies the portal by which nationwide networks and advertisers analyze nationwide scores knowledge, whereas Mediaocean serves as one of many extra outstanding media-buying platforms utilized by nationwide advertisers and companies for community buys and nationwide spot buys. Nationwide networks and native stations can be unable to promote promoting stock to advertisers and companies on these platforms in the event that they bought Eastlan knowledge.

Tapscan, Nielsen’s analytical software program for native radio scores knowledge, beforehand accepted Eastlan knowledge however now not does. Tapscan solely accepts Nielsen knowledge as enter, and its output can simply be uploaded to media-buying platforms resembling Strata or Mediaocean.

These limitations exist regardless of Eastlan providing enhancements over Nielsen’s merchandise. Eastlan makes use of a hybrid recruitment methodology of e-diaries and phone interviews offering bigger, extra consultant samples. The corporate balances samples towards day of week, age, gender, race, and zip code, permitting samples to higher mirror markets and supply extra correct data to advertisers and companies.

Eastlan’s merchandise are additionally extra reasonably priced than Nielsen’s in most markets, typically considerably so. In Memphis, the value of Nielsen native radio scores knowledge exceeded six occasions what Cumulus presently pays for Eastlan’s Memphis knowledge.

The preliminary injunction’s reasoning

Choose Vargas discovered that Cumulus happy its burden of demonstrating {that a} preliminary injunction was vital to forestall irreparable hurt, that Cumulus has a powerful chance of succeeding on the deserves, that the stability of hardships weighs towards Cumulus, and that the general public curiosity favors a preliminary injunction.

The courtroom’s detailed reasoning stays beneath seal on account of competitively delicate details about events and nonparties. An accompanying sealed opinion has been docketed, with the courtroom delaying public submitting to permit events to suggest redactions. The events should submit proposed redactions by January 7, 2025, after which the courtroom will problem a public model.

The order particularly prohibits Nielsen from implementing its Community Coverage and from charging commercially unreasonable charges for its Nationwide Report as an entire, standalone product. For functions of the order, a charge equal to or decrease than the very best annual 2026 charge Nielsen prices any broadcaster for Nationwide is presumptively affordable.

This pricing benchmark proves important as a result of Nielsen sells Nationwide as a standalone product to nationwide networks with out affiliated native stations for quantities just like what Cumulus paid earlier than the Community Coverage implementation, and considerably lower than Nielsen presently proposes charging Cumulus. These nationwide networks don’t personal any native stations that would buy native radio scores knowledge.

Monetary and operational penalties

If Westwood One loses entry to complete nationwide radio scores knowledge, the impacts would show extreme. The nationwide community would face materials monetary losses and reputational hurt, together with lack of goodwill in relationships with advertisers, promoting companies, associates, and content material and repair companions.

Lacking knowledge from even one or two main geographies might considerably decrease metrics measuring the nationwide viewers for a community, underreport the viewers of programming, cut back income alternatives, and render reveals and packages much less aggressive and fewer marketable to advertisers.

Promoting companies could require that responses to requests for proposals embrace knowledge from sure markets resembling San Francisco. If radio scores knowledge from San Francisco don’t seem in Westwood One’s analyses, the community could also be mechanically excluded from consideration, could not have its proposal severely thought of, and could also be unable to promote promoting stock to that advertiser.

Westwood One’s relationships with content material and repair suppliers would additionally undergo injury. Content material and repair suppliers signal income share agreements with Westwood One, and any lower in income from impaired capability to promote promoting stock would probably lead to content material and repair suppliers leaving. Any sense of impaired capability to promote promoting stock would sow doubts and lift issues driving suppliers to exit.

The community’s relationships with 1000’s of associates would face jeopardy as nicely. If Westwood One loses entry to the Nationwide product, the community can be unable to precisely monetize the stock of associates in affected geographies, damaging relationships and inflicting associates to broadcast programming from rivals as an alternative.

Even earlier than Westwood One loses entry to the Nationwide product, advertisers and companies would probably elect to not buy stock from Westwood One, understanding the community faces probably entry loss later in 2026. Many advertisers wish to signal contracts in late 2025 for promoting stock operating all through 2026. If these advertisers anticipate Westwood One to lose entry to the Nationwide product later in 2026, they are going to probably buy stock from entities not dealing with these points.

Broader antitrust context

The Nielsen case arrives amid intensifying antitrust enforcement throughout the promoting and expertise sectors. A number of firms have filed follow-on antitrust lawsuits following a federal courtroom’s April 17, 2025 ruling that Google illegally monopolized digital promoting markets.

OpenX Technologies filed suit on August 4, 2025, searching for damages for monopolization. PubMatic followed on September 8, 2025, alleging systematic anticompetitive conduct together with illegal tying preparations and public sale manipulation. Magnite filed on September 16, 2025, and Index Exchange sued on November 10, 2025.

The sample displays rising willingness by business individuals to problem dominant measurement and promoting expertise suppliers by antitrust litigation. Non-public plaintiffs more and more leverage authorities antitrust victories to determine legal responsibility foundations for monetary restoration.

The trail ahead

Nielsen’s response to the preliminary injunction stays to be seen. The measurement firm has steadfastly refused to supply market-by-market pricing for native radio scores knowledge in particular person markets, regardless of Cumulus’s repeated requests over months. As a substitute, Nielsen has said that native scores pricing is dependent upon Cumulus’s buy of different Nielsen merchandise.

In September 2025, Nielsen made a proposal to Cumulus purporting to supply the Nationwide product individually however for nearly ten occasions what Cumulus presently pays. Nielsen additionally supplied an alternate permitting Cumulus to buy the Nationwide product and native scores knowledge in 32 geographies Cumulus needs to buy, however at a value supposed to disqualify itself as an choice. The grievance characterizes these gives as chimeras made at value factors Nielsen knew would power Cumulus to just accept the unique overtly tied product phrases.

The case additionally carries broader implications for the radio business. If Westwood One faces difficulties promoting promoting stock, all the radio promoting ecosystem suffers. Content material suppliers lose income share funds. Associates lose monetization alternatives. Advertisers lose entry to audiences. Native companies lose efficient promoting channels.

The preliminary injunction supplies short-term reduction whereas the underlying antitrust claims proceed to trial. Cumulus seeks treble damages beneath the Sherman Act, together with everlasting injunctive reduction prohibiting Nielsen’s anticompetitive conduct and mandating steps to revive competitors. The corporate additionally brings claims beneath California’s Unfair Competitors Regulation for Nielsen’s conduct affecting California stations and radio markets.

Nielsen faces allegations it willfully maintained market energy in native radio scores markets by a number of exclusionary and anticompetitive practices. The Subscriber First Coverage degraded the standard of summary-level native scores knowledge for advertisers, companies, and native stations by excluding stations that didn’t buy Nielsen’s overpriced knowledge. The coverage additionally discouraged native stations from buying Eastlan knowledge, as they’d not seem in Nielsen’s summary-level knowledge bought by anybody in that geography.

The corporate stands accused of monopolization within the nationwide radio scores market as nicely. Nielsen’s actions stopping Eastlan from gaining footholds in native markets additionally forestall the competitor from creating the dimensions, fame, and relationships essential to enter the nationwide market.

Regardless of providing enhancements over Nielsen’s merchandise and extra reasonably priced pricing, Eastlan can’t overcome the systematic limitations Nielsen has erected throughout the measurement ecosystem. The result’s lowered output, much less innovation, lowered selection, and better costs than would exist in a aggressive market.

Timeline

• October 16, 2025: Cumulus Media New Holdings Inc. information antitrust lawsuit towards Nielsen in Southern District of New York, alleging monopolization and illegal tying
• September 2024: Nielsen publicizes controversial “Community Coverage” conditioning nationwide scores entry on native scores purchases
• July 25, 2025: Nielsen govt Wealthy Tunkel admits to Cumulus that nationwide knowledge with out excluded geographies can be “Swiss cheese” and acknowledges tying association
• August 18, 2025: Cumulus sends Nielsen cease-and-desist letter explaining why the coverage violates antitrust legal guidelines
• September 16, 2025: Nielsen responds with proposal to promote Nationwide product at virtually ten occasions earlier value
• 2022: Nielsen implements “Subscriber First Coverage” excluding non-subscribing stations from summary-level native scores knowledge
• 2022: Nielsen unilaterally raises value of nationwide radio scores knowledge offered to Cumulus by roughly 36%
• December 30, 2025: Choose Jeannette A. Vargas grants preliminary injunction blocking Nielsen from implementing Community Coverage
• January 7, 2026: Deadline for events to suggest redactions to sealed opinion earlier than public model launch

The preliminary injunction supplies a big victory for Cumulus and probably for the broader radio business. How Nielsen responds and whether or not the courtroom’s remaining ruling on the deserves will essentially reshape radio viewers measurement stays to be decided.

Abstract

Who: Cumulus Media New Holdings Inc., proprietor of almost 400 radio stations and mother or father firm of Westwood One nationwide community, sued The Nielsen Firm LLC, the only supplier of nationwide radio scores knowledge and dominant supplier of native radio scores in 80 markets.

What: Federal Choose Jeannette A. Vargas granted a preliminary injunction on December 30, 2025, blocking Nielsen from implementing its “Community Coverage” that ties entry to complete nationwide radio scores knowledge to purchases of separate native scores merchandise, and prohibiting Nielsen from charging commercially unreasonable charges for its Nationwide Report as a standalone product.

When: The injunction was granted December 30, 2025, following a lawsuit filed October 16, 2025, and stays in impact through the pendency of the litigation pending a January 7, 2026 deadline for events to suggest redactions to the sealed opinion.

The place: The case is being heard in the USA District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York beneath case quantity 25-CV-08581, with implications for radio broadcasting and promoting throughout all 275 radio markets in the USA, significantly the 80 markets the place Cumulus owns stations.

Why: The courtroom discovered Cumulus demonstrated a powerful chance of proving Nielsen violated Part 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act through the use of monopoly energy in nationwide radio scores markets to coerce purchases of native scores knowledge, stopping competitors from Eastlan Rankings, sustaining supracompetitive pricing, and inflicting irreparable hurt to Cumulus’s capability to promote promoting stock by its nationwide community Westwood One.