PPM Panelist Who Alleged Ratings Tampering By Bubba The Love Sponge Sues Nielsen Over Being Identified, Harassed

Defendant

NICHOLAS TABACHUK, the FLORIDA man whose service as a NIELSEN Portable People Meter panelist resulted in his entanglement in the ratings tampering allegations against BUBBA THE LOVE SPONGE and the host's dueling lawsuits with NIELSEN in that matter, is suing NIELSEN for not keeping his name a secret, reports the TAMPA BAY TIMES. TABACHUK provided "whistleblower" information to NIELSEN that alleged BUBBA had paid to influence him to tune in; the suit alleges that NIELSEN promised to keep his identity a secret but failed to do so, exposing him to harassment by BUBBA's fans and forcing him to flee FLORIDA.

The suit in PINELLAS COUNTY Court claims that as a result of his being identifiable, BUBBA fans caused "mayhem" that "was horrific for TABACHUK and his family," and forced TABACHUK to move to a remote mountainous region outside FLORIDA; the suit notes that NIELSEN only referred to him as "the Cooperating Panelist" in its suit against BUBBA, but that the suit's inclusion of verbatim text messages made it easy for BUBBA to identify him as the panelist in question. TABACHUK is seeking an amount "in excess of $30,000" from NIELSEN.

BUBBA, who is not named in the suit, settled his dispute with NIELSEN with a payment of an undisclosed amount and a public admission but ended up being fired by BEASLEY Rock WBRN (BUBBA 98.7)/TAMPA; BUBBA later sued his former employer, COX MEDIA GROUP Talk WHPT (102.5 THE BONE)/TAMPA, which he alleged had set the panelist up as bait to entrap him into paying to influence the ratings and to get him fired by BEASLEY, but the suit, which also named 102.5 THE BONE host MIKE CALTA and former BUBBA producer MATT "SPICE BOY" LOYD as co-defendants, was dropped by BUBBA this JANUARY.

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