MRC Withdraws Accreditation From Arbitron In Five PPM Markets

Pulls Accreditation In Five PPM Markets

ARBITRON has been informed by the MRC that it has withdrawn the accreditation of the monthly AQH radio ratings data produced by the PPM service in five markets: CLEVELAND, PORTLAND OR, RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO, SALT LAKE CITY-OGDEN-PROVO and TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG-CLEARWATER.

Nine PPM markets remain accredited by MRC: ATLANTA, CINCINNATI, HOUSTON (DMA), KANSAS CITY, MILWAUKEE-RACINE, MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, PHILADELPHIA, PHOENIX and ST. LOUIS.

The MRC accreditation status in the remaining PPM markets is unchanged. Those 34 markets continue to be unaccredited.

"Consistent with our long-standing priorities, we will work to retain accreditation where we have it, to regain accreditation where it was withdrawn and to achieve accreditation in our remaining PPM markets," said ARBITRON EVP/Service Innovation and Chief Research Officer GREGG LINDNER. "As always, we will continue our work with the MRC in order to address their concerns."

ARBITRON currently plans to have all 48 PPM markets undergo new MRC audits in 2012.

An ARBITRON spokesperson told ALL ACCESS, "The MRC was primarily concerned about the decline in SPI (response rates) throughout 2011 in these markets. As a result, we have undertaken a comprehensive review of our organization, talent and processes in order to further improve our performance in terms of panel recruitment and panel retention. We are also continuing the key programs of our previously announced continuous improvement efforts: Address-Based Sampling, Targeted In-Person Recruitment and Geo-Zones."

« see more Net News