Nielsen has reached an agreement with nationally syndicated radio personality Bubba Clem, known as Bubba the Love Sponge, and his production company, The Bubba Radio Network, Inc., that resolves the legal action brought by Nielsen for alleged ratings tampering by Clem.
As part of the settlement, Clem admitted that prior to the lawsuit he had not previously disclosed all contacts with Nielsen panelists. In addition, Clem disclosed that he is not presently in contact with any Nielsen panelist, he promised to never knowingly communicate with any active Nielsen panelist in the future, and agreed to immediately notify Nielsen of any future contact with Nielsen’s active panelists. Clem also agreed to make an undisclosed payment to Nielsen. Any future infractions by Clem will be punishable by a court-ordered injunction and additional financial damages payable to Nielsen.
Bubba The Love Sponge
“I understand how important it is to the radio industry that the Nielsen ratings be free from bias and I deeply regret interfering with Nielsen’s collection of listening data,” said Clem.
Nielsen has accepted Bubba Clem’s statement that he regrets his past actions and that he will never engage in similar conduct in the future. Nielsen reaffirms that none of Clem’s contacts with Nielsen panelists materially impacted Nielsen’s audience estimates. Nielsen’s lawsuit was filed as part of an ongoing initiative to safeguard the impartiality of the company’s audio estimates and to protect the integrity of its ratings process.
