June 1, 2004

 

Local People Meter and Meter/Diary Service in New York

Effective June 3, 2004, Nielsen Media Research will support both Local People Meter and Meter/Diary service in the New York DMA.  Reports based on each service will be delivered concurrently, and clients will be able to utilize either service for commercial purposes.  The two services will run concurrently until September 2, at which time the Meter/Diary service will be discontinued in New York.

People Meters are considered the standard for audience measurement in the U.S. and around the world.  However, throughout the process of developing People Meter service in New York, there continues to be diverging opinions in the marketplace.  This includes support for our scheduled launch as well as on-going questions regarding the specifics of the New York implementation.  As a consequence, we have decided to continue to maintain the current Meter/Diary system for an additional three months. 

Nielsen originally planned to introduce LPM service in New York on April 8^th.  We chose, however, to postpone the launch for two months in deference to those who raised questions about the system.  We have used this period to reach out to, and meet with, nearly 100 community leaders and elected officials in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C and across the rest of the country.

Since April, we have conferred with members of the U.S. Senate and Congress; leaders of New York State and New York City governments; and representatives of organizations such as the NAACP, the Hispanic Federation and 100 Black Men.  In every instance, we listened to their concerns and welcomed their input.  We also presented evidence that our LPM sample is a significant improvement in accurate audience measurement.

Nielsen has always endeavored to represent the interests of all segments of the television population.  Just as important, we remain steadfast in our commitment to continually listen to, and work with, all concerned parties to ensure that the system always provides the most accurate and most representative measurements of the diverse TV audiences.

A follow-up communication about revised plans for national integration, as well as our plans for Local People Meter measurement for Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco will be forthcoming.