The New York City Council wants Arbitron to delay deployment of portable people meters (PPMs) and the FCC to investigate whether there is ethnic or racial bias in the ratings system.
Rbr.com reports the council introduced a resolution that states PPM measurements have benefited Oldies and Top 40 stations at the expense of Black and Latino stations in markets where it has been deployed.
Council members worry that minority-focused stations could suffer ratings and revenue losses under PPM, affecting ethnic radio programming in NYC. In a statement, Arbitron responded that the FCC does not have the authority to make such an investigation, but that the company is committed to addressing the council’s concerns.