Arbitron Settles Ratings Discrimination Lawsuit That Largely Overlooked Blacks And Hispanics

Hollywood

This is a follow up to the March 13, 2012 article Hollywood And The Ratings Game Makes One Realize Nielson Figures Are Not An Accurate Reflection Of Viewing Numbers. A week later, radio ratings company, Arbitron, settled a lawsuit that alleged they under-reported the viewing choices of blacks and Hispanics in America.

Nielson also needs to come clean regarding their rating procedures. Blacks and Hispanics deserve to be counted. Everyone does. America is a big country and to truly gauge the nation's listening and viewing habits, as many people as possible need to be included. I am convinced, over the years, a number of radio and television shows that were cancelled early, should not have been, as the ratings figures were not accurate.

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Arbitron to pay $400,000 in lawsuit over ratings

March 26, 2012, 8:08PM ET - Radio audience ratings company Arbitron Inc. says it is paying $400,000 to settle a case in California in which it was accused of under-representing black and Hispanic listeners in its surveys in the state's largest cities. Lawyers for the state and the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco said Arbitron's "Portable People Meters" system "dramatically" under-recruited from those populations when it began in 2008. Arbitron found participants mainly by calling land-line telephones, a process that tends to under-represent minority populations. The government attorneys said the shortfall of black and Latino participants resulted in a sharp drop in advertising rates and revenue for many radio stations that serve black and Hispanic communities...

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Hollywood And The Ratings Game Makes One Realize Nielson Figures Are Not An Accurate Reflection Of Viewing Numbers

Hollywood

For years the Nielson company has monitored television ratings in America, but are their results a true reflection of the nation? No. Nielson ratings are derived from boxes they send to select homes throughout America, but it does not encompass every television in the country. Therefore, how can the results be accurate.

A better system is needed. Minority shows largely featuring blacks and or Hispanics, have routinely suffered in ratings and this is likely due to not enough people of color being tallied by Nielson. Blacks and Hispanics account for over 1/3 of the population in the United States. How can these markets continue to be undercounted.