Courts Dismiss Sunbeam's Appeal over Nielsen Lawsuit

A US Court has dismissed an appeal by Miami TV station Sunbeam, against an earlier dismissal of a lawsuit in which the broadcaster alleged Nielsen monopolized audience ratings systems in the region.

The latest decision was made by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The original suit, dismissed in 2011 by a Florida federal judge, claimed that Nielsen used a monopoly to overcharge for services, and that its Local People Meters (LPMs) underreported ratings in ethnically diverse areas including Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

At the time, Judge Paul C. Huck dismissed the case saying Sunbeam had failed to produce sufficient evidence that LPMs were less accurate than the previous diary system, or less accurate than they would be under a prospective competitor's methodology. He also said that Sunbeam had not established the existence of a 'willing and able competitor' for TV ratings supply that Nielsen was blocking from the market. Sunbeam petitioned against this dismissal, but its appeal has now been dismissed.

Nielsen said in a statement: 'The District Court had found that Sunbeam failed to show that Nielsen blocked any competitor from establishing a syndicated television audience measurement service in the Miami market. The court also found that Nielsen was justified in rolling out its Local People Meter service in Miami, replacing the previous Meter-Diary system. The 11th Circuit agreed.'

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

• Nielsen Media Research
• All news