Arbitron misses NY Attorney General's Accreditation Deadline

story by Inside Radio


Today’s the day the New York market was to have been accredited by under Arbitron’s agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who took action over concerns about minority representation. The settlement dictated Arbitron would win PPM accreditation by today or face a new round of legal action. The company says it may not yet have the MRC blessing, but it has made "significant" improvements.

Despite several Media Rating Council votes over the ensuing months, New York remains unaccredited. Arbitron has also fallen well short of a promised 90% in-tab rate, although it has met other requirements, such as stepping up cell phone-only households and hitting higher Sample Performance Index (SPI) targets.

The company declined to comment on the deadline, but earlier this month CEO Michael Skarzynski touted their gains. “Over the past nine months, Arbitron has made significant advancements to improve sample quality,” he said, noting it has accelerated cell phone-only sampling, increased sample targets for 18-54s and announced plans to increase the size of all PPM panels by mid-2011.

In a call with clients this week VP Beth Webb said, “Arbitron is absolutely committed to participating in the ongoing accreditation process — our goal is to achieve MRC accreditation in all PPM markets.” Arbitron has only been turned down in New York and Philadelphia — it completed audits but stopped short of seeking accreditation in the other 21 cities where PPM has gone live. The company meets with the MRC at least once a month. Key issues remain response and compliance rates.

Under the settlement’s terms, Arbitron was required to conduct a study looking for ratings bias and file it with Cuomo in July. The company declined to make the document available and Cuomo’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment. The A-G already collected $300,000 in penalties. Arbitron has faced similar action in New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, but only New York built in an accreditation deadline.