Andrew Cuomo to court: Stop 'illegal' radio ratings

Andrew Cuomo to court: Stop 'illegal' radio ratings
By DAVID HINCKLEY
Saturday, October 11th 2008, 4:00 AM
Rosier/News
Andrew Cuomo
State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Friday asked New York County Supreme Court to enjoin Arbitron, the radio ratings service, from proceeding with the new Portable People Meter (PPM) system, which Cuomo warns could drive black and Hispanic stations out of business.
The suit further escalates a tense battle between Arbitron, which says the radio business wants and needs the PPM system, and critics who say Arbitron has rolled it out before ensuring it can measure listenership in a fair manner.
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Arbitron yesterday vowed to defend PPM, noting it has suits pending to prevent both Cuomo's office and the New Jersey attorney general from stopping PPM publication.
Arbitron released its first official PPM ratings for New York this week, and most stations did about as well as they did under Arbitron's old "diary" system, in which listeners wrote down what they listened to. With PPMs, participants wear an electronic device that records all radio to which they are exposed.
Several black and Hispanic stations fell below their diary numbers in the PPM ratings, and since ratings determine advertising revenue, they have warned that such a drop could be devastating and possibly force them out of business.
Cuomo's suit seeks "restitution to minority broadcasters who have lost revenue because of PPM."
It also asks the court to enjoin Arbitron from "engaging in deceptive and illegal practices" by claiming the PPM is a fair system.
Critics say they don't object to the concept of PPMs, which will provide radio stations with faster and more detailed listener data.
Their complaint is with the distribution of the meters, claiming Arbitron's placement does not accurately reflect radio listenership.
Also yesterday, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn) joined black and Hispanic broadcasters on the steps of City Hall in a protest against using PPMs.
"Arbitron clearly doesn't understand our community," said Velazquez, "and their faulty data now jeopardizes the diversity of our airwaves."