• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 2, 2009

Arbitron has commercialized ratings from its Portable People Meter, a passive electronic measurement device, in four new markets. The first commercial PPM ratings for Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Detroit cover the period from Nov. 21-Dec.17.

In addition to these ratings, covering the month of December, the PPM audience estimates for October and November are also now designated as commercial ratings. Previously, they were designated "pre-currency," but Arbitron shifts these to official ratings retroactively.

With this announcement, PPM audience ratings are now the official currency for media transactions in radio in a total of 14 markets, including New York, L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Detroit, Nassau-Suffolk, Middlesex-Somerset-Union, Riverside-San Bernardino and San Jose.

Still to come are commercial ratings for Boston, scheduled to debut in April 2009.

The commercialization of PPM ratings in New York has not been without controversy--as minority broadcasters object that certain audiences, including black men ages 18-34, are under-represented by the PPM sampling methodology.

Arbitron has worked to improve the quality of its sampling, but various groups representing minority broadcasters contend that they still suffer from crucial flaws, leading to major declines in the estimated audience for these broadcasters.

In September 2008, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sought to force Arbitron to delay commercialization of PPM ratings, claiming that the sampling flaws constitute a violation of the state's civil-rights laws. On Oct. 27, United States District Judge Denise Cote rejected a motion from Arbitron seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against Cuomo. Shortly thereafter, Cuomo expanded his investigation of Arbitron to include possible securities fraud relating to earlier delays in the rollout of PPM ratings.