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TRENTON
-- Attorney General Anne Milgram announced
today that the state has issued a subpoena
to Arbitron, the monopoly provider of ratings
services to U.S. radio stations, concerning
allegations that its new method for measuring
radio station listenership in New Jersey
is flawed, statistically unreliable and
undercounts the listening habits of minority
consumers.
Based in New York City, Arbitron is a longtime
seller of survey-based ratings data to radio
stations serving New Jersey, as well as
those in broadcast markets across the country.
The subpoena issued today seeks information
regarding Arbitron’s new, electronic
Portable People Meter (PPM) method for determining
audience share, which the company has been
sampling and will soon begin using on a
regular basis in the New–York-New-Jersey
market.
The PPM is being promoted by Arbitron as
a tool for gathering data on audience listening
habits, which is then used to determine
market share. For commercial radio stations,
market share is directly tied to advertising
revenues.
When sampled in the Philadelphia-New-Jersey
and New–York-New Jersey markets, the
PPM methodology was denied accreditation
by the Media Ratings Council, a non-government
entity that tests audience ratings for media.
In addition, in markets where the PPM system
has been sampled, ratings for minority stations
have declined.
Among
other things, today’s subpoena seeks
documents concerning the sampling of Arbitron’s
PPM system in the Houston, New York, Philadelphia
and New Jersey markets, submissions by Arbitron
to the Media Ratings Council regarding accreditation,
and correspondence between Arbitron and
advertisers or radio broadcasters regarding
implementation of PPM.
The
state’s investigation is being conducted
by the Affirmative Litigation Unit within
the Division of Law.
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