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Spanish Radio Assn: PPM Devastating for Local Economies

As expected, the New York City Council has voted unanimously to ask the FCC to investigate Arbitron’s PPM electronic ratings system.

The resolution follows the petition filed last month by the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, the Spanish Radio Association, and the Minority Media Telecommunications Council, requesting that the FCC investigate the PPM, writes Radio Online.

The Spanish Radio Association released a statement in response to NYC’s council decision, saying the decision should serve as a wake-up call for local governments and minority communities around the nation.

“Arbitron’s flawed PPM ratings methodology will severely harm media diversity and ultimately limit the variety of voices and viewpoints on our country’s airwaves,” the statement read. It hit upon the usual argument that the PPM is a threat to minority communities, then upped the ante by saying it could also have a “devastating impact on local economies and needs to be taken seriously.”

The PPM methodology, the statement reiterated, should not be rolled out until all concerns are effectively addressed. Arbitron is standing by its decision to resume rollout of the PPM come October.

Arbitron shot back its own statement, saying it was “disappointed” with the NYC council’s action and adding that the resolution “fails to recognize the importance of electronic measurement and how well PPM samples represent African-American, Hispanic and Spanish-Dominant listeners.”

The statement says the council also fails to recognize:

• that broadcasters, agencies, and advertisers in New York and other major markets have made it clear that PPM is critical if radio is to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging media marketplace.
• the quality of the PPM samples in terms of African-American, Hispanic and Spanish-Dominant representation;
• the continuing dialogue Arbitron maintains with Urban and Hispanic broadcasters and agencies;
• the outreach we are making to highlight the value of African American and Hispanic consumers in the PPM world.
• While Arbitron does not believe that the FCC has jurisdiction over our company, we are willing to continue our voluntary meetings with the FCC and other government officials.
• Arbitron’s role as an independent research company is to provide stations and advertisers with information that is based on the actual behavior of radio audiences. That is what PPM delivers today.

What Arbitron has pointed out in the past but did not mention in its latest release is the company’s belief that the disparity between PPM ratings and diary ratings is a function of the survey tool itself, not the sample. PPM collects actual exposure, while the diary uses recall-based “habitual” behavior.

The Spanish Radio Association has not pointed out in what way they believe the PPM methodology is flawed. It is difficult to say whether the radio groups involved are unhappy with the results being returned by the PPM and are blaming Arbitron for the fact that fewer listeners tune in to minority radio stations than paper diaries had led them to believe, or whether their complaints about faulty methodology are well-founded.