The rapid pace that defined Cumulus Media’s antitrust fight against Nielsen throughout the fourth quarter of 2025 is giving way to something far less dramatic, but far more consequential: a litigation calendar that will now be defined in months, if not years.
With the emergency phase behind it, the case is entering the stage that matters most procedurally.
The next milestone arrives on Monday, February 2, when Nielsen must file its formal response to Cumulus’s complaint under a scheduling order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. That filing is widely expected to be a motion to dismiss, a threshold test of whether some or all of Cumulus’s claims survive long enough to reach discovery.
If Nielsen does move to dismiss, the calendar tightens quickly. Cumulus’s opposition would be due March 4, followed by Nielsen’s reply on March 18. Once briefing closes, the case shifts back to the court, which will decide whether the lawsuit proceeds as pleaded or is narrowed at the outset. Given the scope of the monopolization claims and the record already assembled, a decision is unlikely to come quickly.
Beyond that point, the calendar becomes less precise but more consequential. A denial of a motion to dismiss, which U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas made appear likely, would push the case into discovery, the longest and most expensive phase of antitrust litigation. That would mean document production, depositions of executives and third parties, and competing economic analyses, a process that could extend into late 2026 or beyond. The claims span both national and local ratings markets and include allegations that Nielsen excluded or disadvantaged alternatives such as Eastlan.
Only after discovery would the court entertain summary judgment motions, where either side could argue that the factual record supports a ruling without trial. If those motions fail and no settlement emerges, a trial would still be years away, a standard trajectory for Section 2 monopolization cases.
While appellate proceedings continue in parallel, including review of the preliminary injunction issued by Judge Vargas and temporarily stayed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the day-to-day momentum now belongs to the district court calendar.
