Cumulus has prevailed in two federal courts, and Nielsen wants the US Supreme Court to take another look. A November date at the high court is now attached to that request, though that mark on the calendar only decides when the justices look.
The Supreme Court has distributed Nielsen’s petition for a writ of certiorari in The Nielsen Company (US), LLC v. Cumulus Media New Holdings Inc., for the justices’ Nov. 13 conference, according to the Court’s docket. The scheduling is not a decision to hear the case. Cumulus waived its right to respond Oct. 19, though the Court can still ask for a response.
Nielsen filed Sept. 15, asking the justices to review the Second Circuit’s July 13 decision affirming the preliminary injunction federal district judge Jeannette A. Vargas issued Dec. 30. The Second Circuit denied Nielsen’s rehearing petition Aug. 18, as RBR+TVBR reported.
At issue is how Nielsen sells local radio ratings alongside its national Nationwide report, which aggregates local data. Cumulus sued in October 2025, alleging Nielsen illegally tied access to Nationwide to purchases of local ratings data in every market Cumulus operates. The injunction bars Nielsen from enforcing its Network Policy and from charging a “commercially unreasonable rate” for standalone Nationwide access. The Second Circuit applied what it called “constructive tying,” finding Nielsen had not shown its pricing reflected its actual costs.
Nielsen has called the ruling “egregiously wrong.” It argues the theory conflicts with Sixth and Ninth Circuit precedent requiring proof that a price is the economic equivalent of selling below cost before liability attaches. Nielsen also says attorneys in the Justice Department’s Live Nation case and in ad-tech litigation against Google cited the Second Circuit’s decision within days of its release. The Law and Economics Scholars and the Washington Legal Foundation filed amicus briefs Oct. 19.
A separate enforcement fight is running alongside. On Sept. 9, Vargas ordered Nielsen to offer Cumulus a multi-year Nationwide contract on terms and at a price set by the court, or face a $50,000-a-day fine. The Second Circuit administratively stayed that order Sept. 10 and granted Nielsen a stay pending appeal Sept. 16. Briefing in that appeal was scheduled to run through Oct. 21, with oral argument to follow. The underlying injunction remains in effect.
