Nielsen Says Its Integrity Is At Stake in Bubba Lawsuit

Nielsen has responded to a dissmical motion from attorneys for Bubba The Love Sponge.  Last month, attorney argued the $1M lawsuit filed by Nielsen didn't belong in a federal court.

Bubba’s attorney argued that the case didn’t belong in federal court because Nielsen hadn’t demonstrated at least $75,000 in damages, the minimum for a case to be heard in that jurisdiction, and that Nielsen failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

In a 21-page response filed Friday, Nielsen notes it lost two months of license fees from Beasley rocker WBRN 98.7 FM, Clem’s Tampa flagship for his syndicated morning show, after delisting the station.

According to InsideRadio, each time it uncovered an instance of alleged ratings tampering, Nielsen says it had to locate the tainted data, remove it from the ratings and re-determine the estimates—“all at a significant expenditure of time, effort and resources.”

It also hired outside investigators in addition to using its in-house investigative unit. “The costs of this ongoing investigation continue to accrue,” Nielsen’s response states.

On top of that, Nielsen said Clem’s actions required it to recruit and train 7 new Tampa PPM panelists and 5 South Carolina diary panelists. Perhaps most pointedly, Nielsen says the scandal caused one of radio's largest groups to question the integrity of its ratings and seek compensation from Nielsen.

Nielsen argues it has “more than sufficiently” pled its fraud-based claim with descriptions of five separate panelists whom Clem allegedly encouraged and instructed to provide false listening data.