Both the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and the Spanish Radio Association (SRA) issued statements praising the Attorneys General of New York and New Jersey for taking on Arbitron and winning changes to PPM. NABOB is now asking Arbitron to agree to apply the terms of the NY and NJ settlements to all PPM markets. Otherwise, it warns of more litigation.
“Unfortunately, this settlement only applies in the New York City and Philadelphia markets. As Arbitron continues to roll-out PPM in other markets, we hope that other jurisdictions will consider compelling Arbitron to extend the terms of this settlement to their markets. This ongoing litigation is not good for Arbitron, minority broadcasters or the radio industry,” said NABOB Executive Director Jim Winston.
“Therefore, NABOB will ask Arbitron to agree to the terms negotiated in New York and Philadelphia for every market in which it has rolled-out, or is planning to roll-out, PPM. Absent such an agreement by Arbitron, the problems identified by the New York and New Jersey Attorneys General will continue to plague broadcasters in every other market in which Arbitron has imposed or will impose its PPM system,” he said.
“We hope we won’t have to fight this battle in every market where Arbitron is rolling out PPM, but absent an agreement by Arbitron to make this a nationwide settlement, this battle will continue,” Winston warned.
There was no immediate response from Arbitron to the call to apply the settlement terms to all PPM markets.
“The Spanish Radio Association congratulates and thanks New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram for their leadership in protecting the rights of radio listeners by ensuring the new radio ratings system provides reliable data and accurately reports the listening preferences of Hispanic, African American and other minorities in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia,” said a statement from SRA, which said it believes the settlements will lead to accurate ratings data.
“We are looking forward to working with Arbitron to implement these steps, and we are looking forward to the continued leadership by the Attorneys General in ensuring that Arbitron fulfills its commitments. We also remind the advertising community that, until these improvements are fully implemented and Arbitron’s PPM system receives accreditation by the Media Rating Council, advertisers and agencies should view the flawed PPM ratings with great skepticism and caution, as Attorney General Cuomo and Attorney General Milgram stated when they filed suit against Arbitron,” SRA warned.
“This has been a long, difficult battle, and we are hopeful that the settlement negotiated by Attorney General Cuomo and Attorney General Milgram will restore some integrity to the ratings research process. If Arbitron complies with the terms of the settlement, PPM should be substantially improved. I hope our company and the radio industry, which must rely upon Arbitron’s PPM data, will see more reliable and accurate audience data as a result of this settlement,” Charles Warfield, President and COO of ICBC Holdings, which owns 17 radio stations, including two in New York City, stated on behalf of NABOB members.
