WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nielsen has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the antitrust ruling at the center of its long-running radio-ratings dispute with Cumulus Media, escalating a case with potentially important consequences for how major measurement vendors price standalone products.
Nielsen filed its petition for a writ of certiorari on September 15. The petition challenges a Second Circuit decision that upheld a preliminary injunction barring Nielsen from charging Cumulus what the courts described as a commercially unreasonable rate for Nielsen’s Nationwide radio-ratings product when sold separately from other services.
The dispute is about bundling and standalone pricing
Nielsen argues that it offered the products separately as well as in a discounted bundle and that the lower courts went too far by treating the standalone price as a potentially unlawful constructive tie under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Cumulus has argued that the pricing structure effectively left it without a commercially realistic standalone option.
A separate enforcement fight is also continuing. Earlier this month, a federal district judge ordered Nielsen to make a commercially reasonable standalone offer, but the Second Circuit granted Nielsen a stay while that enforcement order is appealed.
The Supreme Court petition does not mean the justices will hear the case. The Court first decides whether to grant review. The docket lists Cumulus’s response as due October 19.
For radio, the larger issue is bigger than the two companies. Audience measurement is a critical operating input for national sales, programming analysis and advertiser negotiations. A Supreme Court review could clarify how antitrust law applies when a dominant supplier sells products both individually and in bundles.
Sources: Supreme Court docket mirror, Case No. 26-370; Radio Ink, September 17, 2026.