The weekslong standoff is over. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit formally issued a mandate on Tuesday, vacating the stay that had clouded Cumulus Media’s antitrust injunction against Nielsen and confirming that the order is back in force.
The mandate, issued by the court’s clerk, formally affirms the December 30, 2025 order from US District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas granting Cumulus a preliminary injunction against Nielsen’s Network Policy. It simultaneously vacates the February 3 order that had frozen that injunction while Nielsen’s appeal played out.
In July, a three-judge Second Circuit panel affirmed Vargas’s ruling in full, agreeing that Nielsen’s practice of pricing its standalone Nationwide ratings product at up to ten times what Cumulus was paying under its existing contract functioned as a constructive tie to the local ratings data Cumulus wanted to buy from competitor Eastlan Ratings.
Even after that ruling, Nielsen argued the injunction could not take effect until the mandate was formally issued, and that a pending rehearing petition kept the February stay technically in place. Earlier this month, Cumulus asked the district court to clarify that the injunction had already resumed, racing to preserve access to Nationwide ratings before its contract expires in September.
The Second Circuit denied Nielsen’s rehearing request on August 18, clearing the way for Tuesday’s mandate.
Litigation now returns to the Southern District of New York, where Nielsen’s counterclaims accusing Cumulus of sharing ratings data with Eastlan remain pending the broadcaster’s exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
