Memphis Radio: Flinn Files Countersuit Against Nielsen

A federal court judge has given Nielsen a March 14 deadline to respond to a counterclaim filed against the measurement giant by Flinn Broadcasting that the radio industry is watching with a keen eye. It regards charges related to fraud and breach of contract.

In the counterclaim, filed Feb. 10 in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the Memphis-based broadcaster alleged that Nielsen “fraudently induced” it into entering ratings agreements and then breached its contracts by publishing ratings based on what it calls faulty PPM methodology.

InsideRadio reports the counterclaim came in response to a suit filed by Nielsen, which alleged Flinn breached its contract by failing to pay $136,872.88 for PPM ratings and other services for its five-station Memphis cluster during an eight-month period in 2015. All told, including late fees, Nielsen is seeking $176,134.00.

In a scheduling order filed Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander also set a June 30 deadline for fact discovery and status reports, a Sept. 29 deadline for expert discovery/status reports and an Oct. 27 deadline for any motions for a summary judgement.

Flinn’s counterclaim attempts to shoot holes in the Memphis PPM ratings service methodology, claiming its sample size and demographic representation were insufficient, and adversely impacted minority broadcasters such as Flinn. The PPM, which remains unaccredited by the Media Rating Council in Memphis, produced results that were “unreliable, false and misleading,” Flinn claims, arguing that Nielsen had an obligation to “disclose such facts” before signing Flinn to a ratings contract.