Station Owners Request Nielsen Postpone Continued Roll Out of Local People Meter Service
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
Source: Tribune Broadcasting
CONTACT: Media Contacts - Mr. Jerry Fritz, Sr. VP\Legal & 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, VP\Communications of Tribune Company,
+1-312-222-3394
Web site: http://www.tribune.com/
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