Arbitron is suing Saga Communications for using improper use of their data.
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware, accuses Saga of copyright violations by using and redistributing Arbitron ratings without permission and seeks $150,000 per violation. Saga does not subscribe to Arbitron in any market. Arbitron contends that Saga management and employees made decisions on programming and sales rates based on the ratings data it was not contractually licensed to have as well as use it to award employees bonuses. The suit contends that the violations were most rampant at Saga’s Milwaukee cluster.
Arbitron filed and later settled a similar suit with Gannett’s WKYC-TV Cleveland earlier this year.
You can purchase the court documents at this link.