Nielsen Commissions Study of Study of Survey

Further moves in the saga of Nielsen's local people meters and their representation of ethnic audiences. Nielsen Media Research has announced that it has contracted with the University of Southern California's Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), to review the findings of a Latino Television Study which questioned Nielsen's techniques.

The study now under review, published by the National Latino Media Council, was conducted by the firm of Rincon & Associates and was cited by some as a reason for delaying the launch of Nielsen's Local People Meters in New York City and other major markets. Its methodology and results have in turn been questioned by Nielsen.

Susan Whiting, President and CEO of Nielsen Media Research, says that Nielsen had 'serious questions regarding the Rincon study's objectivity, reliability and methodology'. Objections given include the fact that the telephone survey of Latinos covered only four cities, relied on 'listed' telephone numbers in these markets, and that Rincon managed to interview fewer than one in nine Latinos identified for sampling in the first wave and only one in 50 in the second and third waves of interviews.

'Having measured audiences for more than a half century, Nielsen is committed to accuracy in all its measurements,' says Whiting in connection with the latest decision. 'Accordingly, we sought an independent third-party analysis from nationally known scholars to review and independently audit the Rincon study.'

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, founded in 1985, is one of the leading organizations measuring the attitudes of the USA's diverse Latino populations on a broad range of issues. It is affiliated with the research unit of the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development, and associated with the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia University.

The TRPI team that will review the Rincon survey includes Dr. Louis DeSipio, an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, who is one of the authors of TRPI's benchmark studies on Latino television viewing. Dr. Jongho Lee, director of TRPI's Survey Research, and Dr. Rodolfo de la Garza, a professor at Columbia University and vice president of Research at TRPI, will also participate in the audit.

For the past dozen years, Nielsen has used People Meter technology to measure Latino TV viewing of both English- and Spanish-language media at the national level and locally to measure Latino audiences in Los Angeles. It also maintains separate Latino samples in 19 local markets with significant Latino populations as a service to Spanish-Language media, and uses its own 'Language Spoken in the Home' estimates to ensure weighting gives fair representation to both Spanish speakers and English speakers.

According to Whiting, 'It is critical to Nielsen that the quality of our ratings are beyond reproach, and we will work with Rincon or any other organization that is interested in seeking an unbiased understanding of Latino TV viewing behavior'.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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