Delays and Concerns for Nielsen and Arbitron

Nielsen is 'running into rising regulatory static' over its proposed $1.26bn acquisition of radio ratings giant Arbitron, according to reports in the New York Post. Arbitron also has a potential headache as a critical media owner takes his argument with its methods to the US authorities.

The Post said it had learned that the FTC, rather than wrapping up its investigation, had sent out a new round of questionnaires to TV station owners likely to be affected by the merger.

First announced last December, the deal has already been held up by the FTC asking for more time, in February, and more information from Nielsen, in March. Despite being overwhelmingly approved by shareholders the following month, it is still awaiting regulatory clearance. One possibility is that the Commission will ask Nielsen to divest certain assets or make other organisational changes in order for the deal to proceed.

Nielsen said two weeks ago that it expects to have more definite news by the end of August, and CEO David Calhoun remains upbeat, telling investors there is little overlap between the companies and that Nielsen has complied with the FTC's requests and is just waiting for it to revert.

The news comes as Arbitron faces strong criticism from station owner and 3 Daughters Media CEO Gary Burns over changes to its Total Line Reporting policy, which he says will bias the ratings against 'stations with limited coverage, stations owned by small business and minorities'. According to www.allaccess.com , Burns has now written to the FCC, the DOJ and the FTC complaining about their own use of Arbitron Radio Metros to define markets and suggesting that the Nielsen merger will have 'unintended consequences in the marketplace'.

Web sites: www.nypost.com , www.arbitron.com , www.nielsen.com and www.ftc.gov .