Ratings services gear up for retrans chaos. (television ratings firms A.C. Nielsen Co. and Arbitron Co.; retransmission of broadcast programs)

Broadcasting & Cable, August, 1993 by Stern, Christopher

Nielsen, Arbitron preparing for major changes in cable system channel positions The two largest ratings services, Nielsen and Arbitron, are busy preparing for what some are calling "a worst-case scenario," which finds broadcast stations and cable networks dropped from cable systems or forced from their traditional channel positions.

Last week, Nielsen met with cable networks, advertisers, advertising agencies and broadcast stations to assure them that the company is doing everything possible to provide comprehensive numbers by the Oct. 6 deadline for stations to resolve their talks with cable operators over compensation for their signal or face being dropped from cable systems. Stations that choose must carry have the right to be carried on...

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