The Media Rating Council Friday said its Television Committee voted to withhold accreditation for Nielsen Media Research's local people meter service in New York. The MRC attributed the delay to
"certain matters of non-compliance" with the MRC's "minimum standards" for media research. The MRC did not indicate if or when Nielsen might receive accreditation for the service, which becomes the
basis for Nielsen's official New York ratings beginning Thursday, but the delay means that for the first time ever, media buyers will negotiate buys in the nation's largest TV market on the basis of
unaccredited ratings. New York accounts for more than $1 billion in annual local TV advertising sales.