Appeals Court Backs Cumulus in Nielsen Case

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, July 13, 2026 | 3:26pm CT

A federal appeals court has upheld a preliminary injunction blocking Nielsen from enforcing a policy that would require broadcasters purchasing its national radio ratings data to also buy its local ratings services, handing Cumulus Media a significant victory in its ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the ratings company.

In a unanimous decision issued Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a lower court's ruling that Nielsen's pricing policy likely violated antitrust law by using its dominance in national radio audience measurement to pressure customers into purchasing local ratings data they did not want.

The dispute centers on Nielsen's 2024 Network Policy, which Cumulus challenged in a lawsuit filed last year. Cumulus alleged the policy unlawfully tied access to Nielsen's Nationwide ratings service-the only national radio ratings product of its kind-to the purchase of local ratings in every market where a broadcaster operates.

The appeals court agreed with the district court's finding that Nielsen effectively coerced Cumulus by offering a standalone Nationwide subscription at what the lower court described as an "exorbitant" price. According to court filings, the standalone offer was roughly 10 times what Cumulus had previously paid under its existing agreement and would have cost the company approximately $1.2 million more than purchasing Nielsen's bundled national and local data.

The three-judge panel concluded Nielsen's pricing left Cumulus with no meaningful choice and likely had anticompetitive effects by restricting competition in the local ratings market, where Eastlan is Nielsen's primary competitor.

The injunction, first issued in December and reaffirmed in January, remains in place while the underlying antitrust case proceeds in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It bars Nielsen from enforcing the disputed Network Policy or charging what the court considers a commercially unreasonable price for standalone national ratings data.

The appeals court also ruled that Cumulus demonstrated it would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction, citing the potential loss of customers, market share and goodwill.

Cumulus, which owns and operates 395 stations and distributes programming through Westwood One, has argued that Nielsen's policy affected hundreds of millions of dollars in commerce. The company is sought monetary damages and a permanent injunction against the policy.

The court also clarified that Cumulus' Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing does not prevent the company from pursuing its claims against Nielsen, although Nielsen's counterclaims remain stayed during the bankruptcy proceedings.

Neither Nielsen nor Cumulus immediately commented on the ruling.