Hollander Calls Ratings Evaluation Committee "Divisive"

June 28, 2006 By Paul Heine BillBoard Radio Monitor

Encouraging the industry to move quickly on electronic audience measurement, CBS Radio chairman and CEO Joel Hollander said ratings shouldn’t be an issue that divides the industry. Speaking at the Bear Stearns-Interep Radio Symposium in New York, Hollander said selecting a new ratings methodology is “a lot more important” than Clear Channel’s Less Is More clutter reduction program and something that should have been done years ago.

CBS is the largest radio customer yet to cut a deal for Arbitron’s portable people meter. Hollander used part of his Radio Symposium appearance to endorse the service and urge all operators to sign up for it, including Clear Channel.

After spending what he termed 6-9 months participating in Clear Channel’s RFP ratings evaluation committee, Hollander said CBS reached the conclusion that “the other people had the ball on the 20-yard line and Arbitron was in the end zone.” Admitting PPM is not perfect, Hollander termed “divisive” the decision to kick CBS and other companies that signed up for PPM off the evaluation committee.

Arbitron’s PPM rollout has been delayed by its inability, so far, to receive accreditation from the Media Ratings Council. Hollander predicted PPM would receive accreditation, “hopefully in September.”

Earlier, during a group heads session, Bonneville International president and CEO Bruce Reese, another PPM customer, said radio needs to address advertiser concerns about accountability. “We didn’t see anything that promised us a better, less expensive system quickly,” Reese said.

However, Cumulus chairman and CEO Lew Dickey said it was important for the industry to finish the evaluation process. “If we’re going to embark on a path for the next 20 years, we want to get it right and do it in a way that’s cost effective,” Dickey said. “Let’s finish the process. If at the end of the day, the people meter proves to be the best technology, then I suspect everybody will embrace it. If another technology emerges that is better able to capture listening, everybody should rally behind it.”

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