Miami/Dade County Board Calls for PPM Investigation

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

The Miami/Dade County board of county commissioners has passed a resolution urging Congress, as well as Florida legislators and the State Attorney General to investigate Arbitron's PPM ratings service. The board is alleging that PPM under-represents minority radio listeners and that it has "methodological flaws."

The resolution also alleges that PPM includes "serious shortcomings in the accuracy and reliability of the system given its inadequate representation of Hispanic, African-American and other minority listeners." The resolution claims that PPM "significantly undercounts" listening habits of minority consumers, and "does not present a valid and fair representation of the diversity of radio markets in different states."

Additionally, the board is asking Florida's Attorney General to investigate the use of the PPM system in the state to determine whether it is being improved and corrected under the benchmarks established when Arbitron settled with the Attorneys General in New York, New Jersey and Maryland.

On the other side of the fence, Entercom CEO David Field has been a strong proponet of the PPM system. In a letter to the FCC, he describes the service the "best electronic radio audience measurement system currently on the market." He also noted that radio would be at a great disadvantage to other measured media without electronic measurement.