News

Minority broadcasters and their allies decry Arbitron's PPM at House hearing

Published on Thursday, July 09, 2009

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Arbitron CEO Michael Skarzynski told John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee Thursday that radio is hobbled by a “perfect storm” of the recession, a decline in radio revenue, and the fact that many broadcasters were already highly leveraged. But Jim Winston of NABOB (National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters) blames Arbitron for part of the storm. He says “minority stations have experienced a 40-60% drop in their ratings” in markets where the People Meter became operational. He cites some specifics – WSKQ in New York is down 55% and sister WPAT-FM has fallen over 67%. As a result, “Spanish Broadcasting System has been forced to reduce staff by 37%.” While Inner City’s WBLS, New York is down 58% in revenue. Stevie Wonder’s KJLH, Los Angeles “has seen revenues fall 48% since the PPM, almost twice the market’s 29%, and has been forced to lay off 13% of its staff.” He asks “Why is Arbitron putting out a product like this? The answer won’t surprise you: money.”

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