Conyers Calls for Review of Arbitron Portable People Meters

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) today led a bipartisan group of ten members of Congress requesting the GAO to conduct a study on the use of Arbitron’s Portable People Meters and their impact on radio station revenue streams. Many minority-owned broadcasters have expressed concerns about the validity of data collected by these machines.

"Considerable concern has been raised by broadcasters about the accuracy of data collected by the Arbitron Portable People Meters," said Conyers. "The advertising revenues and viability of minority-owned radio stations depends on an accurate measurement of their audience ratings. I believe it would best serve the public interest to conduct an independent review of the methodology and accuracy of this process."

In addition to Chairman Conyers, the following members also signed onto the letter, Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Pedro Pierluisi (D-P.I.), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.).

A copy of the letter requesting the study is linked.