NJ Broadcasters Group Supports State AG Vs. PPM

Not Into Embedding

THE NEW JERSEY BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION (NJBA) has thrown its support behind the lawsuit filed by NEW JERSEY Attorney General ANNE MILGRAM against ARBITRON over its use of the PPM. The litigation highlights the many serious concerns Broadcasters have as to the statistical reliability, legitimacy and accuracy of ARBITRON’s current deployment of the PPM in NEW JERSEY.

"We join with the Attorney General and the people of NEW JERSEY in recognizing the absolute need to investigate ARBITRON’s introduction of the unaccredited PPM system to measure listenership," Exec. Dir. PAUL S. ROTELLA, Esq. said "We believe that the current PPM ratings measurement system is flawed because of inherent undersampling of many NEW JERSEY counties. PPM results, in their present form, unfairly portray the NEW JERSEY’s marketplace to the detriment of minority and small to medium-market broadcasters in the state relative to their larger-market brethren in PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK."

Our indigenous marketplace is not being fairly represented by Arbitron in lumping all of NJ's embedded markets and large minority population into one major metropolitan ratings estimate, and then allowing access to county by county, or even zip code

"This serious threat to the credibility of ARBITRON’s NEW JERSEY ratings in and throughout the state of NEW JERSEY and is compounded by ARBITRON’s calling into question the validity of its accredited and widely accepted diary audience measurement process which is still being utilized by broadcasters in NEW JERSEY for a majority of the radio markets in the state," ROTELLA continued. "Data sampling has been inconsistent, to say the least ... Moreover, ARBITRON’s statements disparaging their diary methodology and then overlaying it with flawed PPM results has caused tremendous confusion and concern among many broadcasters and their advertisers in the GARDEN STATE."

ROTELLA asserted that several NEW JERSEY broadcasters and ARBITRON repeatedly tried and failed to reach an accord regarding statistically reasonable PPM sample (panel) sizes and pricing based on market revenue for a number of NEW JERSEY markets. Because of that failure, "All NJ business and community interests could be harmed by ARBITRON’s confusing statements and business practices ... Our indigenous marketplace is not being fairly represented by ARBITRON in lumping all of NEW JERSEY’s embedded markets and large minority population into one major metropolitan ratings estimate, and then allowing access to county by county, or even zip code breakouts, of that undersampled data in NEW JERSEY. The State’s chief law enforcement officer recognizes the consequences of ARBITRON’s new approach to gauging listenership data and has taken, in our view, to investigate its impact within the state."

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