• by Wayne Friedman , July 18, 2005

Two Congressmen are proposing a bill--the Television Viewer Protection Act--that would require new TV ratings systems to have full approval from the Media Rating Council to operate.

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) and Congressman Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) introduced the legislation, which is similar to a bill introduced by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) two weeks ago--the FAIR Act, which stands for fairness, accuracy, inclusivity, and responsiveness.

The Television Viewer Protection Act would require Nielsen--and other competitors--to get MRC approval before rolling out new systems, such as Nielsen's electronic Local People Meters, currently operating in seven markets.

The Don't Count Us Out Coalition, a Fox-backed group that is protesting against LPMs because of supposed lower ratings of minority viewers, commended the proposed bill.

In a statement, the group said: "The LPM system has resulted in disproportionately high fault rates among Latino and African American households--and scrutiny of Nielsen's system has uncovered massive errors and irregularities throughout its ratings system--but Nielsen's response has been to thumb its nose at its critics."

The Congressional bill says: "The interests of viewers of television programming will be best secured by an industry oversight system that guarantees accurate ratings of television shows."

Nielsen executives did not return phone calls by press time. But when Sen. Burns' bill was introduced earlier this month, Nielsen said in a release: "We are disappointed that political leaders who espouse free market principles would use the power of the federal government to choose sides in a commercial dispute among private businesses."

"This bill, which was drafted in cooperation with News Corp., would benefit only those companies who want to maintain the status quo in the television industry. The bill subjects Nielsen Media alone to government control. No other media survey company is impacted."