Arbitron, Facing Suit by NY AG, Publishes PPM Two Days Early

The New York Attorney General said on Friday that he would file suit against Arbitron to halt the commercialization of its new measurement system; Arbitron was given five days to respond.

Arbitron’s response came almost immediately: the company moved its date for the official launch of the PPM in eight markets up by two days, commercializing the new ratings service beginning today (Oct. 6).

Arbitron released its radio audience estimates for the September 2008 PPM survey month (August 21-September 17) to its subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union, Riverside-San Bernardino and San Jose, writes Mediaweek.

In a release, Arbitron said, “Effective today, the PPM radio audience estimates for these markets should be used as the basis for buy/sell transactions of radio commercial time among subscribing stations, agencies and advertisers. In addition, the July and August PPM survey months, which Arbitron had previously released as ‘pre-currency’ information, are now designated as ‘currency’ data. The Spring 2008 diary-based radio audience report (April 3-June 25) is no longer deemed ‘currency’ for buy/sell transactions.”

Arbitron is also asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Attorney General for the State of New York to prevent any attempt to restrain Arbitron’s publication of the PPM.

Arbitron said that any restraint on the publication of its PPM listening estimates would have an adverse impact on the radio broadcast industry and advertising industries as a whole, would cause Arbitron’s business to suffer severe irreparable harm, would cause economic injury to Arbitron’s shareholders, and violates the company’s First Amendment rights to publish its radio audience listening estimates.

Arbitron has faced a storm of criticism surrounding the PPM in recent months, with most detractors - like radio stations geared toward African American and Hispanic audiences - saying the new measurement system undercounts minorities. In the latest support of the anti-PPM efforts, presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama sent a letter to Arbitron suggesting the company delay rolling out its PPM measurement system until the system is accredited by the Media Research Center.

Media Life magazine pointed out the parallels between the PPM and Nielsen’s rollout of the local people meter which replaced its diary measurement system in 2004. With the LPM, it was the television stations griping about viewership declines and saying that the measurement system undercounted minorities; but Nielsen rolled out the LPM nonetheless.