Bankruptcy Filing Puts Cumulus Antitrust Lawsuit Against Nielsen On Hold.

A federal judge has halted the antitrust lawsuit between Cumulus Media and Nielsen after the broadcaster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, temporarily pausing the closely watched fight over radio ratings practices.

In an order issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that the litigation must be paused following the bankruptcy filing Under federal bankruptcy law, that filing automatically freezes most legal actions involving the debtor. Vargas said the case must therefore stop while the bankruptcy proceedings move forward. The judge also extended the pause to the claims Cumulus itself brought against Nielsen.

The two-page court order says stay will remain in place until either the bankruptcy court lifts the protection or the automatic stay ends under bankruptcy rules.

The ruling effectively freezes a lawsuit that has become one of the radio industry’s most closely watched legal battles. Cumulus filed the case last October accusing Nielsen of violating antitrust laws by tying access to its national radio ratings data to the purchase of local market ratings.

Nielsen has denied those claims and has filed counterclaims accusing Cumulus of sharing confidential Nielsen ratings data with rival measurement firm Eastlan.

The new order does not resolve those disputes but pauses them while the bankruptcy case proceeds.

Judge Vargas directed the companies to keep the court informed about the bankruptcy timeline. The order requires the parties to submit a joint update by June 9 on the status of the bankruptcy proceedings and to continue filing status reports every 90 days afterward. Until then, the antitrust fight over Nielsen’s ratings policies will remain on hold.

A separate legal battle between the two companies in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit over a temporary injunction related to the case has not yet been paused. But it will also likely be put on hold due to the bankruptcy.

Cumulus reached an agreement with lenders, which will use the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process to eliminate roughly $600 million in debt through a streamlined restructuring. Debtholders will exchange what they are owed for equity in the company, which will go-private in the process.