The FTC is seeking public comment on Nielsen’s application...

The FTC is seeking public comment on Nielsen’s application to sell its LinkMeter audience measuring service to comScore, the commission said in a news release Friday (http://1.usa.gov/1dBNkm6). The divesture is part of a proposed settlement with the FTC over Nielsen’s buy of Arbitron, the focus of an FTC complaint over decreased competition in the cross-platform audience rating business. “The elimination of future competition between Nielsen and Arbitron in this market would increase the likelihood that Nielsen would exercise market power and likely cause advertisers, ad agencies, and programmers to pay more for national syndicated cross-platform audience measurement services,” said the FTC. The proposed settlement order requires Nielsen to sell and license assets connected with Arbitron’s cross-platform audience measurement business -- like LinkMeter -- for at least eight years, to an FTC-approved buyer, and Nielsen has asked the FTC to approve comScore as that buyer, the FTC said. “Nielsen and comScore have agreed to terms and other requirements in compliance with the terms set forth in the FTC Decision and Order,” said Nielsen in its own release. The agreement is intended to preserve “the competitive landscape” by allowing the continuation of a project to measure media consumption in TV, radio, PCs and mobile devices that was originally announced in 2012 as a joint effort of ESPN, comScore and Arbitron, said Nielsen.