Business

Ruling may aid Nielsen

Nielsen, the TV ratings giant, received a court ruling this week that could help it win regulatory approval of its $1.26 billion deal to buy Arbitron.

In a little-noticed case, a federal appeals court in Florida ruled that the owner of WSVN, a Miami TV station, didn’t have standing to sue Nielsen for monopolizing the ratings market because it could not show that any rival, including Arbitron, is ready to compete with Nielsen.

If Arbitron has no plans to compete against Nielsen, the merger will likely be approved, sources said.

Arbitron is not “willing and able to enter the capital-intensive television audience measurement industry and compete against Nielsen,” the court ruled.

The Federal Trade Commission could decide the case as early as Friday, sources added.

The FTC declined comment.