• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 24, 2014

Nielsen and comScore have officially announced the signing of an agreement for comScore to acquire the LinkMeter technology Arbitron developed as part of its Project Blueprint cross-platform measurement initiative with comScore for ESPN.

The agreement fulfills a requirement of the Federal Trade Commission's consent decree with Nielsen, resolving its antitrust investigation of Nielsen's acquisition of Arbitron.

"Nielsen and comScore have agreed to terms and other requirements in compliance with the terms set forth in the FTC Decision and order dated September 20, 2013," Nielsen said in a statement, adding: "Nielsen's agreement with the FTC was intended to preserve the competitive landscape in place prior to the acquisition by effectively enabling the continuation of a cross-platform project measuring media consumption across TV, radio, PCs, mobile devices and tablets, which was announced in Fall 2012 by then Arbitron, in concert with ESPN and comScore."