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“The damages from the Arbitron PPM are not theoretical – they are real, quantifiable and devastating.”
NABOB (National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters) executive director, Jim Winston brings plenty of statistics to his Judiciary Committee presentation. See what you think – “minority stations have experienced a 40-60% drop in their ratings” in markets where the Portable People Meter became operational.
In New York, Spanish stations WSKQ is down 55% and sister WPAT-FM is off over 67%. As a result, “Spanish Broadcasting System has been forced to reduce staff by 37%.” 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.”
Winston asks bluntly, “Why is Arbitron putting out a product like this? The answer won’t surprise you: money.” For Winston, the “refusal of lenders to re-structure broadcast loans and Arbitron’s abuse” are more than the “perfect storm” that Arbitron CEO Michael Skarzynski told the committee about. NABOB is asking the House Judiciary Committee to investigate Arbitron. From TRI
As I have been saying months ago, it’s PPM if changes aren’t made in their sampling, that will kill Black Radio and not the Performance Royalty Tax.