NY State Legislators To Denounce Nielsen RollOut Local People Meters In NYC.

Nielsen Media Research plans to introduce Local People Meter (LPM) to measure television show ratings in New York.

Due to flaws in Local People Meters (LPMs), Nielsen delayed their introduction in Los Angeles and Chicago. Despite overwhelming evidence that Local People Meters (LPMs) will undercount African-America and Latino viewers in New York City, Nielsen intends to move forward with the LPM roll-out on April 8th.
 
According to Nielsen’s own research, in 2000, Nielsen undercounted Latino participation in its ratings by 300,000 people… moreover, African American viewers may have been historically undercounted by as much as 25% using People Meter technology.

Nielsen flaws have led to a systemic undercounting of Latino and African American viewers which may have led to the cancellation of programming targeted to them. In addition to dealing a serious blow to diversity in programming Nielsen’s flawed ratings may have reduced meaningful opportunities for Latino and African American writers, producers, directors, actors and entertainment entrepreneurs.
 
These State legislators are committed to ensuring New York’s viewers are counted and delay the roll-out of LPMs in New York and other markets until such time as the efficacy of the People Meter technology and the adequate representation of minority viewing audiences can be verified by an independent audit.