As Roll-Out of Arbitron Portable People Meter Draws Near, SBS Gears Up For A Fight.

As part of its continuing campaign to raise awareness regarding the potentially devastating impact of Arbitron’s PPM (Portable People Meter) on Spanish-language radio stations across the United States, Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (“SBS”) announced today that they have just retained the services of the MirRam Group, a full-service strategic communications and consulting firm located in New York City with extensive experience in community-driven campaigns such as the nationwide “Don’t Count Us Out” campaign to raise awareness of Nielsen Media Research’s Local People Meters. MirRam Group will help the company in its efforts to educate the public about the potential damage that a new system of measuring radio listening habits could have on the Hispanic community.

“Considering that SBS is the largest publicly-traded Hispanic-owned media company in the United States, I am proud they are taking a leadership role in this critical fight to serve the Hispanic community”, said Luis A. Miranda, Jr., Partner, MirRam Group. “I am very much looking forward to working with SBS’s leadership as we raise awareness and educate consumers and others about the danger posed by the implementation of Arbitron’s PPM.

Roberto Ramirez, Partner, MirRam Group, added that the campaign will highlight what is at stake for Latino consumers and businesses if the PPM’s are implemented without substantial improvements. “I think we are looking at a fight to save Spanish-language radio in the United States. We can’t afford to lose media outlets that serve our communities, much less as a result of an unproven and questionable ratings system.”

Arbitron is said to be committed to converting to this new ratings survey system called PPM. Already in use in Philadelphia and Houston, Arbitron will officially introduce this new system in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose in October. By the end of 2008, the system is expected to be in use in all of the Top 10 radio markets in the country.

For years, Arbitron Inc. has measured radio ratings based on paper diaries filled out by listeners. The new system, which has already encountered numerous glitches in Philadelphia and Houston, provides listeners with an electronic device that automatically records their exposure to radio with no regard to their likes or dislikes. Numerous community and industry leaders have raised serious doubts about PPM’s effectiveness in measuring the listening habits of the Hispanic population. SBS has been one of the most outspoken critics of this new measurement instrument and the methodology behind it. “The PPM survey information we have seen so far is troubling to say the least,” said Frank Flores, Vice President of SBS Radio in New York. “Across the nation, people are very concerned that the implementation of PPM as it currently exists could be devastating to the Hispanic community,” he added.

Frank Flores continues, “I believe that the MirRam Group will give us some added support to help make our issues known to the broader community and in the end get us closer to having PPM ratings that are fair and equitable with regard to the Hispanic listening audience.”