Univision Drops Suit

Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications Inc. said Monday that it had withdrawn a lawsuit alleging that Nielsen Media Research’s new TV ratings system underestimated Latino viewership in Los Angeles.

In a joint statement, Nielsen said it also had dropped a counterclaim against Univision.

Univision had filed suit in June to block Nielsen’s July rollout in Los Angeles of devices known as “local people meters,” which measure TV-watching habits. The suit claimed that because Nielsen’s sample audience allegedly underrepresented Spanish-speaking Latinos, the new system would cause Univision irreparable harm.

Nielsen’s ratings are used to set TV advertising rates.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge J. Stephen Czuleger dealt Univision a blow in July when he refused to issue an order blocking the switch to people meters. He ruled that Univision had failed to provide sufficient evidence that the system was “unfair, unlawful or a fraudulent business practice.”

However, the two sides have not resolved their differences.

Univision, controlled by Los Angeles billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio, still says that Nielsen’s sample audience has too many English-speaking Latinos and small families, which give advertisers a distorted picture of TV-viewing patterns in Los Angeles and other major markets.

Univision has said it will not pay for Nielsen’s local station ratings in the cities where the new system is being used. “Negotiations are continuing,” said Univision spokeswoman Brooke Morganstein.