Draft FCC Notice of Inquiry on Arbitron Near Final Vote
A draft notice of inquiry on Arbitron portable radio audience measurement devices, now on circulation at the FCC, asks questions about their methodology, agency officials said. The draft was circulated April 20, according to the commission’s Web site. It’s been approved by two commissioners, said an agency official. The notice may be released in the coming weeks, although acting Chairman Michael Copps hasn’t set a deadline for the item to be finalized, said agency and industry officials.
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At Copps’ request, the head of the body that accredits audience measurement tools met with him and others April 14 to discuss the process for approval, said an ex parte filing last week. At an April 15 meeting with Commissioner Robert McDowell, members of the PPM Coalition, which originally sought an FCC probe, “urged the prompt issuance of inquiry” on the devices’ methods, said another filing. The group seeks “to document, correct and avoid the potentially devastating impact” of PPMs “on minority participation in the radio industry and the radio industry’s service to minority audiences,” it added.
The notice takes a different tack than that requested by the coalition, whose 2008 petition for an FCC examination sought a more formal probe, said agency officials. The notice doesn’t start an inquiry under section 403 of the Communications Act, as the coalition sought, they said. The pending notice is viewed as an information-collection vehicle and not an enforcement tool (CD April 9 p7) as would be the case of a section 403 investigation, they said. The NOI does cite that section in saying it has authority to examine the area, commission officials said. It also asks if the commission has authority to act on its findings and for comments on what Arbitron has done to improve PPM methods, said an FCC official.
In addition to asking for feedback on critiques of the People Meters, the notice also asks for comments on responses to criticism by Arbitron, the devices’ maker, said agency officials. Arbitron has said it’s continuing to improve accuracy of the devices, which are superior to older audience counting tools such as diaries kept by listeners. An FCC official declined to comment. A company spokeswoman said she couldn’t comment right away.
Industry officials said momentum seems to have been picking up in recent weeks for the commission to start an inquiry. “I gather things are moving pretty quickly over there to get the NOI out,” said James Winston, executive director of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters. It’s among the members of the PPM Coalition, which includes 10 companies and other groups. Lawmakers like Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., continue to take interest in the issue, but no legislation has been prepared or hearings set by Congress, Winston added. “I still think it’s percolating over there.”