Nielsen Arbitron Approval Pending?

Speculation in the papers suggests that Nielsen's $1.3bn merger with Arbitron could finally get approval today from the FTC, perhaps with an agreement to license technology to comScore. However, at time of going to press, nothing further has been announced.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal says approval, 'likely [to] come with conditions including one to ensure Arbitron continues a measurement initiative with comScore', is imminent. Other measurement competitors such as Rentrak or TiVo's TRA, may not be included in the stipulations, based in part on reports that only comScore has been asked to meet FTC regulators during recent discussions.

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