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Arbitron's New York Deadline Passes
The deadline set by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for Arbitron to gain MRC accreditation for its PPM radio ratings service in the market has passed, with no announcement of success and reports suggesting no accreditation has been gained.
The deadline of October 15 for MRC (Media Rating Council) endorsement in the New York Metro area was set by Cuomo back in January, as part of a court order regarding his concerns that the PPM service was undercounting minority listenership.
At the time the lawsuit was settled in January, Arbitron pledged to undertake a series of actions to rectify issues with sample sizes for ethnic minority groups, which it believed would result in MRC approval. Failure to obtain this approval could result in renewed legal action from Cuomo, although there are major question marks over his authority to impose penalties on a company relating to a standard which is not legally binding.
Requests for a response from Cuomo, Arbitron and the MRC have not been answered.
Separately, Arbitron has just commercialized its PPM service in five new local markets: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, St. Louis, Denver-Boulder, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Web sites: www.arbitron.com and www.mediaratingcouncil.org .
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