Sunbeam and Nielsen Head for Talks

In the US, Sunbeam Television's lawsuit against Nielsen is back in the news, with mandatory mediation due to start on Monday in Boston. Sunbeam has submitted a long list of individuals it may cite or call upon for evidence, including network execs and current and past Nielsen competitors.

The list includes employees of the two companies; media professionals including CBS' David Poltrack and NBC Universal's Alan Wurtzel; Rentrak VP and former erinMedia employee Michael Vinson; and a number of top executives at cable operators such as Comcast and Cox, all according to www.mediapost.com .

The allegations centre around 'more than $1m per month' in damage caused to Sunbeam's business by Nielsen's new LPM system. They cite the audience research giant's supposed monopoly of ratings which Sunbeam says has led to artificially high prices and inferior and flawed ratings services; associated anti-competitive practices including long and restrictive contracts; and alleged under-representation of minorities and other audience demographics leading to a 'decimating' of revenue for its Miami station WSVN.

The broadcaster also said in court papers that it had obtained and shared with Nielsen relevant documents from Arbitron, Comcast and the Media Rating Council, among others.

Nielsen, which says the suit is without merit and intends to defend it vigorously, failed in a bid to dismiss the case in March. The trial is likely to commence early next year.

Web sites: www.nielsen.com and www.wsvn.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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