HTTP thanks FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein for his leadership in requesting that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin investigate whether Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings undermine media diversity and the viability of minority owned media outlets. According to the Commissioner’s November 18 letter, the FCC has “heard from numerous broadcasters and advocates for diversity that the continued deployment of PPM in new markets without accreditation from the Media Ratings Council (MRC) constitutes a clear and present danger to media diversity.”

The Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Council, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, the Spanish Broadcasters Association and other minority media and civil right groups have actively opposed the use of the PPM data. The Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, Hon. Nydia Velazquez has called on the FCC to investigate Arbitron’s new PPM system, and both the Attorney General’s of New York and New Jersey have filed court suits to stop the new PPM system.

The new PPM system requires individuals to wear a small device which picks up inaudible radio identification signals from the wearer’s environment throughout the day. The information is transmitted to Arbitron via the wearer’s land-line where it is compiled in a database. Advertisers rely on Arbitron data to determine where to spend their ad dollars. The PPM system replaces one in which listeners manually recorded what they listened to in a diary.

Notwithstanding Arbitron’s claims that the new system provides more accurate data, the Media Ratings Council has twice declined to grant the new PPM system accreditation and has repeatedly urged Arbitron to work with the radio industry to resolve the concerns regarding the new methodology.

Minority broadcasters depend on advertising revenue to continue to serve their audiences. In the short time that the system has been in use, we have already seen how Arbitron’s new ratings system has negatively impacted minority radio ratings, and has moved advertisers away from minority broadcasters.

The Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership strongly supports Commissioner Adelstein’s request to open an investigation of the PPM ratings methodology.