SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 1 -- In
the ongoing antitrust case of Cumulus, owner of Westwood
One, against Nielsen for monopoly over-charging for
nationwide data, both parties on August 31 filed that
their September 1 evidentiary hearing should be sealed.
Inner City Press
went to the courtroom and spoke in opposition, from the
podium. One of Nielsen's lawyers from Gibson Dunn, Joshua
Lipton, insisted commercial harm could trump all other
issues. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York Judge Jeannette A. Vargas, noting the Press'
First Amendment arguments, said only the first part of the
proceeding would be sealed. And so:
Cumulus'
lawyer
Jennifer Fleury of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader: Nielsen's
expert excluded I-Heart and Audacy, then Salem, to drive
up the presumed reasonable rate. [Inner City Press is here
voluntarily not publishing the actual dollar amount, said
apparently in error]
Now Cumulus' cross
of Nielsen's expert Mark Zmijewski pka "Professor Z"
Prof
Z: My model is applicable to any customer.
Cumulus'
lawyer:
So there are five to 15 companies which buy "nationwide"
from Nielsen on a stand-alone basis?
Prof
Z: There are 10. Not tracked by BIA, so out
Prof
Z: They were so small- Cumulus' lawyer: What do you mean?
Prof Z: Cumulus has $175.3 million in revenue. Smaller
companies, I excluded. Nielsen told me they didn't have
any information Cumulus' lawyer: You had pricing data?
Prof Z: Not from BIA. I needed that
Prof
Z: No contract is going to be exactly like that of
Cumulus' Westwood One. But I used a benchmark. It's like
looking at prices of houses - you don't use ones that are
not comparable. [Then
Prof Z said something and quickly apologized- courtroom
sealed
Can't
go back in - but will follow the case.