NAACP protests Nielsen's proposed method of counting Black and Hispanic viewers

Jet, April 19, 2004

The NAACP recently joined NY Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and others in protesting Nielsen Media Research's plan to change the way it counts TV viewers in New York.

The civil rights organization maintains that the proposed plan will misrepresent the number of Black and Hispanic viewers.

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said in a letter sent to Nielsen President and CEO Susan D. Whiting that Nielsen's proposed plans would undercount minority viewership and harm the "future of programming aimed specifically at African-American and Latino audiences."

At issue are plans by Nielsen to adopt a new method of counting the number of TV viewers. This month, Nielsen plans to use local people meters in New York instead of the paper diaries used by viewers to determine what people are watching on TV.

Local people meters (LPM) operate by having members of the household press a button on the device to register when they are watching TV.

Mfume urged Nielsen to delay the introduction of the LPMs "until such time as Nielsen can adequately demonstrate that LPMs will accurately count all viewers."

Nielsen plans to use people meters in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and have viewers use them in the 10 largest markets by next year, the New York Times reported.

Sen. Clinton pointed out in her letter to Whiting that a test of the New York people meters indicated that "virtually all top-rated shows among African-American adults witnessed significant declines in viewership, in some cases by more than 60 percent."

She stated that the new plan was "undercounting minority viewers."

A coalition of New York leaders have formed the organization, Don't Count Us Out, to stop Nielsen from undercounting minority viewers in New York City.

Hazel Dukes, state chair of the NAACP, stated: "Nielsen may be a monopoly, but no corporation is above public accountability. This coalition has formed to make sure that Nielsen no longer continues to undercount minority viewers. We want Nielsen, especially its leadership, to hear us when we say, 'Don't Count Us Out.'"

Nielsen maintains, however, that the number of Black and Hispanic viewers sampled on their viewing habits would increase with the new counting system.

In a press release the Nielsen Media Research company stated: "Using the LPM (Local People Meters), African-Americans and Hispanics have greater representation in New York than the existing rating methods ... This will allow for more accurate representation of their viewing."