FTC Clears Final Nielsen / Arbitron Hurdle

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has determined that Nielsen's acquisition of Arbitron was not anticompetitive.

Back in November, the FTC gave the public more time to comment on the 'consent agreement' for Nielsen's acquisition of Arbitron - even though the Commission had approved the $1.26 billion deal the previous month. At the time of the acquisition, Nielsen and Arbitron had both been developing syndicated cross-measurement platforms, and according to the complaint, the FTC was concerned that once the two platforms had been merged, Nielsen would demand clients pay more for the service.

However, the FTC has now determined that this would not be the case. In a final order settling the charges, the Commission has reiterated that Nielsen must sell and license for at least eight years certain assets relating to Arbitron's cross-measurement platform, to an FTC-approved buyer. Related to this, it is now seeking public comment on Nielsen's request to sell its LinkMeter technology and related data rights to comScore as part of the consent order.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .