Spanish-Language Broadcasters Call for FCC and FTC Action on Audience Measurement
The FCC and FTC should improve the audience measurement of Spanish-language broadcasters, a host of such broadcasters told FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya at a roundtable Wednesday at Florida International University. Gomez and Bedoya said they…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
would seek to “continue the conversation” and hold further roundtables on the issue. “This sounds like something industry needs to sit and figure out,” Gomez said. Asked about the chances of the FTC intervening, Bedoya said it would be important to show his Republican colleagues that the matter involves market failure and is not related to diversity, equity and inclusion. “I’m going to be very blunt: That brand -- DEI -- is not in favor right now. This is not about that.” Nielsen uses overly small sample sizes to determine audiences for Spanish-language broadcasters, leading to inaccurate measurements and fluctuating ratings, the broadcasters said. Nielsen didn’t immediately comment and didn’t attend the panel, though Bedoya said the company was invited. Two households leaving a ratings panel can cause a station’s ratings to be cut in half, said Entravision Chief Governmental Affairs Officer Marcelo Gaete. “Six thousand Latinos are deciding the fate of 50 million,” said Stephanie Valencia, owner of the Latino Media Network. The broadcasters mentioned Nielsen’s lack of competition as the reason the company hasn't improved how it handles Spanish-language broadcasting. “They need to have skin in the game,” Gaete said. Nielsen is “an unregulated monopoly,” said Raul Alarcon, CEO of Spanish Broadcasting System.