Station Owner Protests Arbitron Policy Change

Gary E. Burns

Owner and CEO of 3 Daughters Media stations Gary Burns of Lynchburg, VA.  is taking his protest of a new Arbitron policy up a notch.

Arbitron plans to make its Total Line Reporting, in which the ratings of simulcast stations are combined into one number, for subscribers-only beginning in 2014. Under the updated policy, only licensed subscribing stations “in good standing” will be eligible to combine audiences for their stations and Internet streams that are 100% simulcast on a single reporting line in Arbitron ratings reports and data services.

Burns recently protested the change to Arbitron CEO Sean Creamer, saying the change will result in a different application ratings methodology for stations in the same survey and will change the station rankings. “Stations most likely to incur damages as a result of this new policy are stations with limited coverage, stations owned by small business and minorities. Measurement of radio listening in metro markets should be subject to the same methodology and rules for every station qualified to be in the measured market,” said Burns in a letter he shared with Radio World.

Now, Burns has taken his concerns to the FCC, the DOJ and the FTC.

Specifically, he’s saying the planned acquisition of Arbitron by Nielsen “will have unintended consequences in the marketplace.” As the DOJ and FTC review that deal, Burns asks the regulators to require “all measured entities be treated equally” without regard to whether such a company is an Arbitron subscriber and to consider “all of the other ramifications of the merger” before allowing the pending $1.26 billion transaction to close.

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3 Daughters Media currently owns 7 stations in Virginia and Tennesee.