• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, May 12, 2008

The Media Rating Council, the organization that self-regulates the media industry's ratings currencies, has quietly gotten a blessing from the U.S. Department of Justice to alter the way it works with ratings companies, including a new code of conduct that would require them to get accreditation before introducing a new "currency" into the marketplace. The code, which is voluntary, was created by the MRC's board, a couple of years ago when Nielsen was thumbing its nose at the MRC and rolling out local people meter ratings services before they had been audited of gone through the accreditation process.

At the time, Nielsen's behavior led to Senate hearings, and a high profile industry backlash, as well as boycotts and media campaigns by civil rights and community activist organizations. In an effort to give the MRC more teeth in its ability to help the industry regulate itself, the MRC developed the new code, which would apply to any ratings service that is used as a currency for advertising buys.

The code requires any ratings company that is replacing an existing currency ratings service with a new one to, first "obtain accreditation of the new product, and at a minimum submit impact data and undergo an independent audit, prior to commercialization."

Because the code deviated from a waiver granted by the Justice Department in 1964 when it was originally formed, the MRC asked the federal agency to review it before enacting it.

The Justice Department said the changes are "not likely to harm competition, and that a voluntary, precommercialization audit and accreditation of audience measurement products has the potential to benefit users by providing assurances that the products are valid, reliable and effective."

While no ratings service has yet signed the new code, MRC Executive Director and CEO George Ivie said all of the currency ratings services - Nielsen (TV), Arbitron (radio), Mediamark Research Inc. (magazines), and Scarborough (newspapers) - have pledged to do so. Neither of the online industry's two big ratings services - comScore or Nielsen Online - currently constitute a market currency, though both are participating in ongoing audits by the MRC.

Technically speaking, Ivie said Nielsen's decision to rollout its new C3 ratings service prior to obtaining MRC accreditation, did not violate the new code, because Nielsen has not officially shut down is old, accredited TV program ratings service. But the reality is that the new C3 ratings have become the prevailing market currency for most national TV advertising buys (see related coverage in today's edition of MediaDailyNews).