Arbitron Responds to GAO Inquiry

The Government Accountability Office will be looking into the effect Arbitron’s PPM will have on advertising revenue streams for radio stations, and particularly whether it adequately counts minorities. It is the latest group to examine the PPM following claims that the electronic measurement system undercounts minority groups.

Arbitron issued a statement saying: “As always, Arbitron welcomes every opportunity to discuss the PPM technology, service and our sampling methodology. We continue to have a dialogue with key members of Congress as well as other interested parties, and look forward to helping the radio industry as a whole remain competitive in the current media marketplace.”

The PPM radio audience estimates are currently used as the basis for buy/sell transactions of radio commercial time among subscribing stations, agencies and advertisers in 20 major U.S. markets.

Already, the FCC and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are looking into such claims

In July, the Florida Attorney General sued Arbitron to prevent commercialization of the PPM in Miami. Arbitron settled with the attorneys general in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland earlier this year.

Arbitron is facing challenges on another front, as well. Univision Communications has chosen not to subscribe to the service in all its markets, having refused to encode is stations in Miami, San Diego and Phoenix. The decision leaves buyers with an incomplete picture of radio listening in those markets, Mediaweek points out. Univision says it has stopped using the estimates due to the “flawed sample.”

“We are hopeful Arbitron will address the issues identified by Attorneys General in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, as well as numerous members of Congress,” Univision said, adding that once “reliable information” is available, the company will subscribe to the service and use the data.