LOS ANGELES (March 26, 2012) -- The nation's dominant provider of radio audience metrics has agreed to settle a consumer protection lawsuit jointly pursued by the State of California and the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco over a listenership measurement scheme said to discriminate against radio stations with predominantly African American and Hispanic audiences.  California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera alleged that Arbitron Inc.'s implementation of "Portable People Meters" to measure radio station listenership in California beginning in 2008 violated the state's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Unruh Civil Rights Act by dramatically undercounting minority audiences, causing sharp declines in advertising rates and revenue for many broadcasters.  

In deploying its new system relying on electronic metering devices to replace personal listenership diaries, Arbitron's listener selection methodology inadequately reflected the diversity of broadcast audiences in California markets, according to the complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court.  The result was that of 18 stations serving minority audiences in California, 16 experienced ratings decreases in excess of 30 percent under the PPM ratings scheme.  One Spanish language radio station that had previously enjoyed a number one ranking in the Los Angeles market saw its ratings plummet by more than 50 percent under Arbitron's PPM ratings for September 2008, unfairly reducing the station's ranking to third in the overall market.  Arbitron's PPM methodology has in the past been criticized by minority broadcasters and the Media Ratings Council, the independent industry body that accredits media ratings systems.

Under the terms of the settlement filed today, Arbitron will take multiple steps to ensure that its ratings are accurate and do not unfairly disadvantage minority radio stations in California.  Arbitron has agreed to implement address based recruitment, increase cell phone sampling, incorporate country of origin as a standard demographic characteristic, and work to achieve full Media Ratings Council accreditation in the state.  The Columbia, Md.-based media research firm has also agreed to pay a total of $400,000 to the plaintiffs: $150,000 each to the State of California and City of Los Angeles, and $100,000 to the City and County of San Francisco.  

"This settlement ensures that California's diverse audiences will be fully counted by Arbitron's ratings systems and that broadcasters serving these communities will have the opportunity to compete fairly in the marketplace," said Attorney General Harris. "I am pleased that Arbitron will be revising its practices in the state and thank my partners in this effort, City Attorneys Carmen Trutanich and Dennis Herrera."

"Through this settlement, Arbitron has agreed to take important steps to ensure that minority radio stations are reasonably treated in order that they may fairly compete in the California marketplace," said Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich. "In a City as diverse as Los Angeles, it is important that all of our residents and our businesses be equally represented and able to compete in our field of commerce. Only then will all Californians have a voice."

"Assuring the integrity of broadcast rating methodologies is essential to protect media outlets that serve California's diverse communities," said San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera.  "These measures set all-important ad rates and revenue, and largely determine the success or failure of media outlets in a competitive industry.  I'm grateful for the hard work and expertise of my co-counsel in this case, Attorney General Kamala Harris and L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.  I am also appreciative of Arbitron and its legal team for their cooperative approach and willingness to negotiate with us in good faith."

The case is the People of the State of California v. Arbitron, Inc., San Francisco Superior Court case no. 519349.