Lawsuit accuses Bubba The Love Sponge of ratings tampering

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) — The Nielsen company is suing Bubba The Love Sponge, claiming the DJ paid a radio listener who was participating in a radio survey to inflate his show's ratings. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Tampa, Nielsen alleges that Clem violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. According to the lawsuit, Nielsen says Clem learned from a listener that one of the listener's acquaintances was participating in Nielsen's survey. Clem then met with the acquaintance several times and offered to pay $300 a month if the listener helped increase his ratings, and a bonus of up to $400 a month if a target result was reached. A phone call to Clem rang unanswered.