Hispanic firms want probe of ‘flawed' PPM

US-- Minority advertisers and broadcasters have called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate Arbitron's portable people meter (PPM) radio measurement system, which they say is “flawed”.

The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) and the PPM Coalition, formed by minority broadcasters, filed a petition with the FCC calling for a review of PPM, which they claim has led to “enormous declines” in audience figures for Hispanic stations.

Although the association says it backs the move away from paper diaries to electronic measurement, it claims that flaws in Arbitron's sampling methodology have been exacerbated by the new technology.

Isabella Sánchez, who chairs the AHAA's PPM council, said: “Latinos in the US are not appropriately represented in the PPM sample by age breakout, country of origin or Hispanic dominance in the home, which is yielding faulty and inadequate results for our marketplace.”

The council, formed in April, released a statement following a meeting with Arbitron last month, saying that sampling issues were “still not resolved”. The statement said: “While some details were clarified and additional data will be provided by Arbitron, overall AHAA council members feel the methodology, measurement, and design of the PPM ratings system remain flawed.”

“We just have a more precise tool burdened with all of the same problems,” said Sánchez.

Arbitron responded by saying the council's comments did not take into account the dialogue between Arbitron and minority broadcasters and advertisers, the advantages of PPM over the diary method or the improvements made in PPM samples for minority groups.

It added that it did not believe the FCC has the jurisdiction to conduct such an investigation, but said “we are committed to continue our voluntary meetings with the FCC”.

Last year pressure from minority broadcasters led Arbitron to commit to an independent review of the PPM system. The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters went as far as calling for a congressional investigation.

The switchover from diary measurement to PPM returns to schedule this month following a nine-month delay to address client's concerns with the system.

Author: Robert Bain