"Emmis supports a restart. We think any other choice holds more negatives than good for the industry. Having said that, we join many other broadcasters in encouraging Arbitron to continue making strong progress on sample issues, particularly with regard to 18 to 34," Rick Cummings, President of Emmis Radio told RBR/TVBR. Emmis has stations in New York, LA and Chicago, all of which will be in the next round of PPM becoming currency for buying and selling spots.
"I’m sorry that all of these markets are not accredited or may have not even been applied for accreditation. Hopefully they will be accredited very rapidly and we will have currency that is accredited," said Kathy Crawford, MindShare President/Local Broadcast.
Bob Neil, CEO of Cox Radio, didn’t accept Arbitron’s contention that the restart was widely supported by radio groups. “This is akin to the results most dictators announce after a purported ‘election.’ I know that just yesterday a broad coalition of Spanish operators warned them not to proceed. I know they didn’t talk to us, or many of the other big groups. But, let’s face it, Arbitron is desperate to move ahead and they don’t care what happens. So, now we’ll see what it’s like to live with sample sizes of 20 people representing a broad demographic. I can promise you we’ll continue to provide the industry with plenty of information. I hope everyone has been contributing to their savings accounts and 401(K)s, because they may need them after the fallout,” he said last evening.
