| 
Tribune Broadcasting President Testifies
at Congressional Hearing
Mullen Urges Senate to Pass FAIR Ratings
Act
CHICAGO, July 27,
2005 --
Tribune Broadcasting President Patrick
J. Mullen today urged a United States Senate panel to enact
legislation which would require that any ratings measurement
system be accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) before
it is commercially introduced in a market.
The head of Tribune’s 26 television
station group told the Senate Commerce Committee that television
ratings play a crucial role in determining the viability
of the free over the air television industry, and
that reliable audience measurement is critical to the nation
as a whole.
"Our stations get a report card every
morning from Nielsen," said Mullen. "They determine
the value of our advertising. This in turn determines how
much money can be invested in new and better programming,
and in new digital technology. Ratings also determine
which programs remain on the air, and which ones will be
taken off for apparent lack of viewer interest. I regret
to say that the measurement system we have today in the largest
television markets is not worthy of public trust."
In the past year, Nielsen has deployed
a new ratings system called Local People Meter (LPM) service
in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington,
D.C. and Philadelphia, after its first introduction in
Boston. During his testimony, Mullen argued that Nielsen’s
LPM service is plagued by sampling defects, and regularly
under-represents young men, African-Americans and Hispanics.
"On the average day in New York, for
the week ending July 10th, the viewing choices of nearly
one-third of the Black and Hispanic men ages 18 to 34 in
the LPM sample were not reflected in the ratings," said
Mullen. "Chicago
sample data for the week ending July 10th show that almost
one-third of the 443 African-Americans installed in the sample
were not ‘in tab’"meaning their television
viewing was not counted in the ratings."
S. 1372, the recently-proposed FAIR Ratings Act being considered
by the Senate, would require Media Rating Council accreditation
before any ratings measurement system is commercially introduced
in a market. Established in 1964, the Media Rating Council
is a non-profit organization whose members include representatives
of broadcast TV and radio, cable television, print, advertisers,
ad agencies, and Internet constituencies. Mullen said the
bill would ensure reliable and statistically valid audience
measurement without any government oversight or expense,
while encouraging innovation and new technology.
In May, Tribune and 17 other broadcast
companies asked Nielsen to delay the deployment of LPM
service in other markets until the Media Rating Council
deemed the system reliable in markets where it was already
being used. Nielsen rejected the industry’s
proposal. LPM service has yet to receive full MRC accreditation
in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
A full text of Mullen’s testimony
will be posted on the Tribune Company website at www.tribune.com later today.
:: :: ::
TRIBUNE (NYSE: TRB) is one of
the country’s top media
companies, operating businesses in broadcasting and publishing.
It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is
the only media organization with television stations, newspapers
and websites in the nation’s top three markets. In
publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers
including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday,
plus a wide range of targeted publications such as Spanish-language
Hoy. The company’s broadcasting group operates 26 television
stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago’s
WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and
information websites complement Tribune’s print and
broadcast properties and extend the company’s nationwide
audience.
|
