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Station Owners Request Nielsen Postpone Continued Roll Out of
Local People Meter Service
CHICAGO, May 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More than one dozen media companies
with television stations located across the country have requested that Nielsen
Media Research postpone the continued roll out of Local People Meter (LPM)
service. The list of station owners included Allbritton Communications
Company, Barrington Broadcasting Company, Belo Corporation, CBS, Cox
Television, The Dispatch Broadcast Group, Emmis Communications, E.W. Scripps
Company, Fisher Communications, Fox Television Stations, Gannett Broadcasting,
Liberty Corporation, LIN-TV, Media General Broadcast Group, NBC- Universal
Television Stations, Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., and Tribune Broadcasting
Company.
In a May 25th letter to Nielsen president and chief executive officer Susan
Whiting, the media companies pointed to "flaws" in the LPM system that they
said should be removed before the service is expanded. They requested that
Nielsen delay further roll out of LPMs until the Media Ratings Council (MRC)
has accredited this service in the markets where it is now being used, and that
it receive accreditation in new markets prior to launching the service.
In the letter, the media companies said they "support the use of new technology
to improve audience measurement," but that the reliability of the LPM service
should be verified by MRC. So far, LPM service has been accredited by the MRC
in only two of the five markets in which Nielsen has made it the only standard
of television audience measurement. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. are
slated for conversion to LPM service on June 2. Detroit, Atlanta and Dallas are
scheduled for conversion to LPM service later this year.
Copies of the May 25th letter sent to Whiting, and a follow-up letter sent
today are attached to this press release.
May 25, 2005
Ms. Susan Whiting
President and CEO
Nielsen Media Research
770 Broadway
New York, New York 10003
Dear Ms. Whiting:
The undersigned television broadcasters urge Nielsen Media Research to postpone
the continued rollout of Local People Meter (LPM) service until the Media
Ratings Council (MRC) has accredited this service in the markets where it is
now being used. We also ask for your commitment to obtain MRC accreditation
prior to deploying LPMs into any other new market.
Accurate and reliable viewing data are the bedrock of the television industry.
They determine what shows will air and what shows will be cancelled. They
determine how much advertisers will pay to sponsor our programming. They
determine whether programs produced to serve our local communities, including
minority or other important audience segments, will succeed or fail by
measuring their interest in these programs. More broadly, ratings data
determine whether our entertainment and sports programming will be shown by
over-the-air broadcasters or will migrate to pay services like cable and
satellite. They determine whether our news and public affairs programming
efforts and our industry's huge investment in digital television facilities
will generate a return or will force further expense cutbacks or even
bankruptcies. In short, a reliable gauge of television viewing is essential to
the credibility and viability of our industry, and to our ability to compete.
Without it, the currency on which billions of dollars in advertising and
programming expenditures rely will be needlessly devalued, to the public's
detriment.
Our companies have sought to work constructively with Nielsen for many years
and to provide suggestions to improve audience measurement. In meetings called
to discuss our experiences in the markets where LPM service has been launched
and diary/set meter measurement has been scrapped, you have acknowledged that
problems exist and have led to significant underreporting of discrete audience
segments in some cases. You promised to address these failures, but we have yet
to see improvement. Both the size of your measured sample and the incidence of
Nielsen viewers not responding at all (fault rates) have fallen well below
Nielsen's own standards in many cases.
The undersigned enthusiastically support the use of new technology to improve
audience measurement. But we believe LPM, and any new technology, as
implemented and deployed must prove its reliability, and in the case of LPMs,
that proof should be obtained before it is launched in additional markets to
replace accepted metrics. Flaws in the system must be removed before LPM
service is expanded. Otherwise, Nielsen threatens to irreparably harm the
television industry that has served the public interest for 60 years.
LPM service is fully accredited by MRC in only two (Boston and San Francisco)
of the five markets in which Nielsen has made it the only standard of
television audience measurement. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. are slated
for conversion to LPMs on June 2, with Detroit, Atlanta and Dallas scheduled
during the next year. These communities, of course, are the nation's largest
markets, and measurement errors or omissions in these markets will have
cascading impacts across the country. We are concerned that any further rollout
of LPM service, without MRC accreditation, risks severe damage to public and
industry acceptance of television ratings data and can adversely impact
programming decisions affecting underreported audiences.
We believe the responsible course for Nielsen is to postpone your scheduled
deployment of LPM measurement services until these services are deemed reliable
in current markets to the satisfaction of an independent body, the MRC. In
fact, because of its Boston experience, the MRC itself recommended that Nielsen
implement these new LPMs only after achieving accreditation. By taking this
recommended course of action, you will likely restore credibility to your
organization and avoid further challenges from concerned parties. Nielsen has
consistently pledged to be responsive to its customers and to the highest
standards of audience measurement, and now is the time for your actions to give
full meaning to your words.
Please respond to our requests by close of business Friday, May 27, 2005.
Sincerely,
Patrick J. Mullen
Tribune Broadcasting Company
Gannett Broadcasting Cox Television
Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc. Allbritton Communications Company
NBC-Universal Television Stations Fisher Communications, Inc.
LIN-TV Corporation The Dispatch Broadcast Group
Barrington Broadcasting Co., Inc. Belo Corp.
CBS Emmis Communications
Liberty Corporation Media General Broadcast Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. E.W. Scripps Company
Tribune Broadcasting Company
cc. George Ivie, Media Ratings Council
May 31, 2005
Ms. Susan Whiting
President and CEO
Nielsen Media Research
770 Broadway
New York, New York 10003
Dear Ms. Whiting:
Your response to our May 25 letter concerning the significant problems with
Nielsen's deployment of local people meters was disappointing. As our letter
clearly stated, the station groups which cosigned that letter sought, and
continue to seek, a constructive resolution to the problems that have plagued
this service since inception.
Your letter states that this is a highly competitive industry. You are correct
in that assertion which makes accurate ratings data that much more important.
Therefore postponing LPM deployment in any additional markets, pending MRC
accreditation, would be constructive for all Nielsen clients. It is difficult
to understand how you chose to interpret our request as an effort to improperly
influence that marketplace. To the contrary, inaccuracies in your data can and
will have improper consequences.
Your letter also misreads the legal implications of our request. There is
simply no legal impediment to our seeking reliable, credible data from Nielsen
or to our suggesting that you obtain the accreditation that would demonstrate
this reliability. Our concerns are based upon the evidence that has come from
the markets in which you are currently using the LPM service. Since you are
well aware of these problems, there is no need to recite them here. Nor does
our suggestion expose you to legal challenge.
Your suggestion of a meeting with the MRC executive committee could constitute
the "productive discussion" you indicate you are seeking. Consequently, I am
prepared to fly to New York for a meeting tomorrow with you and MRC
representatives, assuming we will discuss at that meeting how the scheduled
launch of the LPM service in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. can be deferred
pending accreditation. If you will join me in this effort, I will be on the
next plane.
Sincerely,
Patrick J. Mullen
Tribune Broadcasting
Gannett Broadcasting Cox Television
Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc. Allbritton Communications Company
NBC-Universal Television Stations Fisher Communications Company
LIN-TV Corporation The Dispatch Broadcast Group
Barrington Broadcasting co., Inc. Belo Corp.
CBS Emmis Communications
Liberty Corporation Media General Broadcast Group
Fox Television Stations, Inc. E.W. Scripps Company
Tribune Broadcasting Company
Cc: George Ivie, Media Ratings Council
DATASOURCE: Tribune Broadcasting
CONTACT: Media Contacts - Mr. Jerry Fritz, Sr. VPLegal & Strategic
Affairs of Allbritton Communications, +1-202-728-4383; or Mr. Tom Herwitz,
President, Station Operations of Fox Television Stations, Inc.,
+1-202-895-3144; or Mr. Patrick Mullen, President, Tribune Broadcasting,
+1-312-222-3491; or Mr. Gary Weitman, VPCommunications of Tribune Company,
+1-312-222-3394
Web site: http://www.tribune.com/