Don't Count Us Out/Queremos Ser Contados Responds to Nielsen's Announcement on Roll Out of Local People Meters in LA Market 7/8/2004
From: Lisa Cohen, 310-395-2544, for Don't Count Us Out LOS ANGELES, July 8 -- Today, Nielsen Media Research announced its intention to introduce a new rating system that has been shown to undercount African American and Hispanic viewers. This decision ignores the calls of dozens of lawmakers, community groups and industry leaders that have called on Nielsen to delay the introduction of this flawed system until an independent review could verify its accuracy and fairness. The Local People Meter (LPM) system has been shown to have systemic problems when it comes to recording minority viewing preferences. A recent audit by the Media Rating Council found that the LPM system in New York failed to record viewing data from over 25 percent of African American homes in the sample. The audit further found that 1 out of every 6 households Nielsen classified as African American were not, in fact, African American. 1 in 14 households Nielsen classified as Hispanic were not, in fact, Hispanic. Based on these grave concerns, Univision, the largest Spanish- language broadcaster in the country, has filed suit in Los Angeles court out of concern that the LPM system will vastly undercount Spanish-speaking residents. Indeed, an affidavit filed by a former top Nielsen executive indicated that the system could undercount Hispanic viewers by as much as 37 percent. The fact that Nielsen is pressing ahead in willful defiance of other stakeholders sheds light on the inherent problem of an unregulated monopoly having unchecked power in the television ratings system. Right now there is no governmental agency or regulatory body with the authority to protect the public interest. The public simply has no advocate and no defender. Thus, Nielsen loudly asserts that the LPM system is the most accurate system on the market. Yet no independent source can possibly verify these claims. Nielsen insists that the new sample includes 50 percent more African American and Latino households. But no independent body is ensuring that the choices of all those households and all the members in each household are being accurately recorded. Nielsen's sole concession has been to continue to use the current system in a parallel fashion with the new LPM system for a transition period. This is an obvious smokescreen. If the LPM system is flawed than it should not be in the market at all. If it is not flawed then there is no reason to keep parallel systems. In the end what is needed above all is an independent arbiter that can step in and offer an objective assessment that the viewing public can trust. It is clearly time for Congress to intervene on the public's behalf. Nielsen must be subject to oversight in order to guarantee that its rating systems meet the standards of accuracy and fairness that American viewers deserve. For more information, log on to http://www.dontcountusout.com |