• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 31, 2005

Calling on the federal government to reaffirm its authority to oversee media ratings suppliers such as Nielsen Media Research, the Media Rating Council last week sent letters to influential members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission that also recommends the development of an industry-funded consortium to develop "better measurement techniques." The request, which was made to Sen. Conrad Burns and FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, comes just as members of media and advertising industries are exploring other alternatives to Nielsen's monopoly over the TV ratings process.

The Advertising Research Foundation today is convening a special meeting featuring representatives from the U.K., France, Australia and Canada, which utilize various consortiums, cooperatives and JICs (joint industry committee) to manage their media ratings process.

At least one major private initiative to develop a U.S. industry cooperative has had difficulty attracting support, and may have been suspended, but the MRC request appears to be an attempt to develop a consortium under the auspices of an organization that already has the government's blessing for industry self-regulation of the ratings process.

"A diverse group of users of media measurement data are exploring the establishment of an industry-funded research consortium to study the effectiveness of measurement methodologies and pursue development of better measurement techniques (this is similar to the role of CONTAM as established by the Harris Committee recommendations but with broader representation; this Consortium is not intended to replace CONTAM)," states the letter signed by MRC CEO-Executive Director George Ivie, as well as 66 individual board members.

"This Consortium could utilize the procedures and anti-trust protection of the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984, which allows for appropriate cooperation by otherwise competing organizations for the purpose of pursuing research and development activities," the council added, noting that the consortium would not be part of the MRC, but would be closely aligned to it.

Addressing Nielsen specifically, the council called on the FTC to reaffirm Nielsen's "consent" to the MRC accreditation process, which it agreed to as part of the resolution of the Harris Committee Hearings in the 1960s: "The MRC, coordinating with the Federal Trade Commission and Congress, should establish a voluntary code of conduct for Nielsen Media Research, which specifies ground-rules for interaction with the MRC accreditation process. This would establish a framework for other providers that possess similar marketplace dominance which have the potential to undermine the voluntary adherence to the accreditation process," states the letter. For a full copy of the letter, see (see Real Media Riffs, Jan. 28)