The PPM system went into effect in New York City in October, and caused a drop-off in ratings for many Spanish language radio stations. “If you compare the diary ratings in the spring to PPM ratings this month, the fall-off in ratings is as high as 60 to 70 percent in certain Spanish language radio stations and day parts,” said Frank Flores, vice president and market manager for Spanish Broadcasting System New York, adding that such ratings dives could force some stations out of business because of lower ad revenue. Spanish Broadcasting System, which owns or operates 21 radio stations nationally, has refused to negotiate with advertisers based on the new numbers, claiming they are inaccurate. “The dramatic and drastic fall in ratings seems to happen in large part only to black and Hispanic stations,” said Flores.
Flores and others argue that the error is caused not by the new technology itself, but by the new sampling system Arbitron has adopted, which they believe undercounts minorities. Flores says that with the diary system, the zip codes of the individuals who recorded their radio habits were released, and he could verify that an appropriate number were drawn from high density black and Hispanic areas. With the new system, however, Arbitron has refused to release zip code information as a measure to prevent tampering with their samples. In the meantime, Flores has asked Arbitron to revise its new sampling system by taking into account factors such as listeners' country of origin and other variables to guarantee that a proper number and variety of Latinos are sampled, arguing that this will make data more representative. But he has yet to see any changes. “Their timetable for addressing these concerns is six months to a year, but the problem is immediate,” he said. Arbitron maintains that it exceeded its sample target of blacks by 13 percent and of Hispanics by 23 percent.
The City Council took a position on this media matter, too, recently passing a resolution calling on the FCC to investigate the PPM system. “The new Arbitron system, which has been used in other states, already caused major changes in the ratings of stations,” said Councilman Leroy Comrie, chairman of the Consumer Affairs Committee, referring to the effects that PPM already has demonstrated in Philadelphia and Texas. Additionally, a lawsuit against Arbitron has been launched by the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for false advertising and deceptive business practices surrounding its PPM system.
Although Arbitron has been willing to meet with the City Council, Comrie remains frustrated that they have not taken any action to address his concerns, and worries about the consequences of decreasing revenue for minority radio stations. “We are fighting to maintain local cultural influence over news and music,” he said. “It’s important that we not wind up only having superstations.”
