• by Joe Mandese , January 14, 2011

The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida has dismissed all federal and state antitrust claims brought against the Nielsen Co. by Sunbeam Television Corp., regarding its TV ratings practices in the Miami market, Nielsen announced in a statement released this afternoon.

"The Court held that Sunbeam failed to show that any competitor was 'willing and able' to enter the local television ratings market in Miami and was excluded from that market by Nielsen," Nielsen stated, adding, "The Court also determined that Sunbeam could not prove that the current ratings for Sunbeam's local station WSVN are less accurate than they would be under a prospective competitor's methodology."

Nielsen said that the court deferred ruling on other claims, including breach of contract and violation of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, until a supplemental briefing has been submitted and considered later this month.