• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 5, 2008

Saga Communications has added its voice to the broadcasters demanding that Arbitron's Portable People Meter service be accredited by the Media Rating Council before the company commercializes it in other markets.

The company's name appeared alongside Cox Radio and Inner City Broadcasting in a new ad appearing in radio trade publications that encourages readers to call Steve Morris, Arbitron's chairman, president and CEO, and ask him to delay commercialization in new markets.

Specifically, the radio groups say that PPM should receive MRC accreditation in at least one market in addition to Houston, the only market where it is currently accredited. That essentially means that Arbitron would have to win accreditation in either New York City or Philadelphia, where PPM systems are operating in a "pre-commercial" phase.

The new ad addresses the same themes as an earlier ad from Cox and ICB that appeared in trade pubs a few weeks ago. The ads suggest that Arbitron's management is rushing the rollout of PPM service for financial reasons, including "millions of dollars in bonuses," even though (the broadcasters allege) the service isn't ready. The ad cites mistakes made by Arbitron in Houston and ongoing problems with samples in Philadelphia.

After the first ad appeared, Arbitron responded by reiterating its commitment to undergo an MRC audit and eventually gain MRC accreditation for PPM in each market served.

However, the company did not indicate that it would change its schedule or wait for MRC accreditation before commercializing the service in other markets. A spokesman for the company said it was sticking to its schedule "so that radio can keep pace with the digital media environment."

PPM, which is supposed to provide long-sought electronic measurement of radio audiences, has already been delayed once. Last fall, Arbitron responded to broadcasters' criticism of PPM sampling and methodology by pushing back the date for commercialization of the service by three to nine months in a number of top markets According to the new schedule, commercialization is scheduled for September in New York, two Long Island markets, Chicago, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Francisco and San Jose, and December in Dallas.

The Media Rating Council is an official industry body established at the behest of Congress in the 1960s to maintain quality standards in media ratings.