The NY City Council called upon the FCC to investigate Arbitron’s implementation of PPM.

This is a Statement in Response to NYC Council Vote in Support of Resolution No. 1583-A

Attributable to the Spanish Radio Association (SRA)

“The New York City Council’s decision to call on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) system should serve as a wakeup call for local governments and minority communities around the nation. Arbitron’s flawed PPM ratings methodology will severely harm media diversity and ultimately limit the variety of voices and viewpoints on our country’s radio airwaves. It is a real threat, not only to minority communities but could also have a devastating impact on local economies and needs to be taken seriously. The PPM ratings methodology should not be rolled out until all concerns are effectively addressed.

Several members of the Spanish Radio Association (SRA) have a long standing presence in New York City, working tirelessly as a vibrant extension of the minority communities they serve, and as a strong part of the economic fabric of the communities they serve by creating jobs, paying taxes and supporting small and minority-owned businesses that rely on our airwaves to reach the community. Urban and Ethnic stations not only provide vital news and information, but they also provide a lifeline for their communities by helping to organize, promote, and service a wide range of local civic campaigns and programs. The importance of Spanish-language and Urban radio stations in New York and around the nation is immeasurable, and Arbitron’s unaccredited methodology produces unreliable and inaccurate measurement data that will destroy years of progress diversifying radio. Unfortunately, Arbitron is a monopoly and even though the SRA has invested time and effort to help Arbitron develop a system that will provide reliable rating data, their lack of understanding of minority communities combined with their lack of commitment to these communities, has resulted in our recommendations being ignored.

We commend the New York City Council for working to protect and ensure ethnically and racially diverse radio programming as it continues to thrive in a city of more than 4.6 million minorities.”