Text messages, Facebook messages phone records and e-mails between Bubba The Love Sponge and PPM panelist Nicholas Tabachuk could play a big role in the upcoming ratings tampering case against Bubba. There are pages and pages of text messages between the host and Tabachuk on the evidence list provided to the court by both sides.
Bubba’a team will also present evidence of e-mails between Tabachuk and CMG host Mike Calta and a video of his apology for making contact with the PPM panelist along with an article where Bubba admits to ratings tampering. Bubba also plans to submit evidence from several markets where Nielsen had issues with ratings irregularities.
On the Nielsen side there are 27 pages of evidence the ratings firm plans to submit to the court, including many pages of text messages between Bubba and Tabachuk. There is also a piece of evidence called: “Timeline of Bubba Clem’s Work History – Fired From Almost Every Job Over the Past 30 Years.”
Typically when Nielsen has issues with a radio company and ratings things are handled quietly by the two companies. Neither side really wants a public fight over ratings, how they are conducted, and how someone may or may not have tried to influence ratings in a particular market. The Nielsen numbers are extremely important in terms of the revenue that flows to radio from advertisers and rocking the boar publicly isn’t good for either side. The Bubba case promises to be entirely different, with all the guts out there for everyone to see.
