Bubba the Love Sponge Countersuing Nielsen
| RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, January 17, 2017 |
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The ratings tampering case between Nielsen and Bubba the Love Sponge (Todd Clem) just got a little more spicey. Clem has how filed his own counterclaim against Nielsen, including allegations that Cox and Cox Tampa morning man Mike Calta conspired against him and Beasley Media.
In the 46-page lawsuit, Clem claims Nielsen's motivation for conspiring with Cox was to use its monopoly power to interfere with Clem's contractual relationship with Beasley and artificially increasing Cox-owned WHPT's market share in Tampa. In addition Clem believes Nielsen wanted to entice Cox to enter into new contracts for additional services and also was attempting to conceal fraudulent conduct committed by its own employees and other serious flaws in its ratings methodology.
Clem also alleges that during a now infamous April 2015 phone call between Calta and Clem that aired live on both stations, Calta falsely claimed that WBRN's ratings were improving because Clem was tampering with the ratings. According to Clem, this was all done with Cox's knowledge and approval.
