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Spanish B’casting System Goes Public against PPM

Spanish Broadcasting System believes Arbitron’s PPM could have a potentially devastating impact on Spanish-language radio stations, and has hired a PR firm to help educate the public about possible damage that could be caused to Hispanic communities.

MirRam Group partner Luis A. Miranda Jr. says the agency will be raising awareness and educating consumers and others about “the danger posed by the implementation of Arbitron’s PPM,” according to Radio Online.

SBS vp Frank Flores calls the PPM survey information received so far, “troubling, to say the least.”

Arbitron’s PPM has been under scrutiny for struggling with panel sizes in Philadelphia and New York. When Arbitron began reporting PPM numbers in New York in October, several stations geared toward minority listeners saw steep declines.

No format changes were made, said the general manager of two of the stations affected, who added that the declines seemed to stem from the fact that they were being measured via the new PPM rather than the old paper diary method.

Arbitron senior vp of press and investor relations Thom Mocarsky said the declines were due to the fact that the PPM offers more precise measurements. It may also be true that a greater number of people are listening to more stations - paper diaries showed that the average African American person in New York listened to radio 13.7 times a month, while the PPM showed that average number to be 20.4, he said.

“Your total time with radio is being divided among more stations and more occasions,” and as a result, each radio station’s share becomes smaller, Mocarsky said.

Earlier this week the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies announced members of an advisory council created to explore the issues and opportunities surrounding Arbitron’s Portable People Meter.