Cumulus Seeks Fast-Track Discovery In Antitrust Case Against Nielsen.

Cumulus Media is asking a federal judge to fast-track discovery in its antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen, arguing the broadcaster needs evidence before year’s end to prevent “irreparable harm” to its national radio network business.

“Many advertising and content contracts are signed in late 2025,” the company explains in a letter to Judge Jeannette Vargas. “So, Cumulus needs an injunction before the end of this year to be able to continue operating without irreparable harm to its business and to continue providing an important public service to our communities.”

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York this month, Cumulus asked the court to block Nielsen from implementing a tying policy that conditions access to national radio ratings data on the purchase of separate local radio ratings data. Cumulus calls it a “textbook abuse of monopoly power” that harms competition by preventing radio stations from freely choosing the local radio ratings data providers they want.

In its letter, Cumulus says both parties agree on a preliminary injunction hearing in early to mid-December but differ sharply on how much discovery should precede it. Cumulus wants “targeted” fact and expert discovery so it can present evidence of Nielsen’s conduct at the hearing. It accuses Nielsen of trying to “prevent the Court from seeing and hearing the evidence,” noting that Nielsen’s proposal would limit depositions and bar witness testimony.

Cumulus cites a recent ruling by Judge Vargas in another antitrust case involving two real estate companies, where the court required an evidentiary hearing because disputed facts were involved. Cumulus argues the same standard should apply here. It says the information about the tying policy, as well as information regarding the pricing of Nielsen’s local radio and national radio ratings data, is “readily available,” and it will help the judge make her decisions on the preliminary injunction.

A proposed scheduling order filed by Cumulus lays out a compressed timeline, with discovery to be completed by late November and a potential hearing during the week of Dec. 8 or Dec. 15. Expert reports would be exchanged in late November and early December, followed by post-hearing briefs within four business days of the hearing’s conclusion.

In a suit filed last week, Cumulus accuses the ratings giant of illegally tying its national and local radio measurement services. The antitrust complaint says Nielsen’s 2024 policy conditions access to its nationwide ratings on buying local data everywhere it owns stations. Cumulus alleges the policy effectively forces broadcasters to pay for “products they neither want nor need,” or risk losing national ratings. The sought-after preliminary injunction would block Nielsen from enforcing the policy while its broader antitrust case proceeds.

The suit also challenges Nielsen’s earlier subscriber-first policy, which requires local stations to subscribe to Nielsen or be excluded from summary-level ratings data that advertisers rely on — a move Cumulus calls another anticompetitive restraint.

Nielsen has not yet filed its formal response to the suit, but has denied the allegations, saying the suit is “entirely without merit.”