Univision Communications Inc. has dropped the lawsuit it brought against Nielsen Media Research this summer over the rollout of “Local People Meters,” officials said Monday.
In addition to Univision abandoning its complaint, Nielsen has also withdrawn the countermotion it had lodged against the giant Spanish-language broadcaster under California’s Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, or SLAPP, statute.
Back in June, Univision sued and sought an injunction to bar Nielsen from launching the controversial LPMs in Los Angeles July 8. The Hispanic broadcaster alleged that Nielsen’s Los Angeles sample had too few young Latinos and that it overrepresented Hispanic households that spoke mostly or only English.
In its original suit, Univision claimed that it would suffer damage from the LPMs because of the “inaccurate and deflated ratings” generated by that methodology.
Nielsen had denied those allegations and filed its own motion against Univision. A judge declined to issue the injunction, and the LPM launch took place in Los Angeles as planned.
“Univision and Nielsen are continuing their discussions,” a Univision spokeswoman said.
Univision has a contract for Nielsen’s national Hispanic ratings service, but so far, it has not signed up for its LPM services in markets such as Los Angeles and New York.
