HR0985 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0985 LRB093 22302 MKM 51375 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Nielsen Media Research has a national monopoly on measuring viewership of television shows; and

WHEREAS, The Nielsen ratings are used to determine the amount that television stations will charge for advertising and to determine what programming content will be offered; and

WHEREAS, Nielsen Media Research intends to deploy Local People Meters (LPMs), a new technology, in Chicago this summer to rate television shows according to the number of viewers; and

WHEREAS, The use of LPMs, by Nielsen Media Research's own admission, has resulted in dramatic decline in the number of minority viewers that are counted, as demonstrated by the fact that, in tests of the LPM system in New York, the ratings declined by as much as 62% for virtually every top-rated program among African-Americans, and similar declines were seen for top-rated Spanish language networks, while programming targeted primarily to white audiences saw no such decline; and

WHEREAS, Nielsen Media Research initially delayed the deployment of LPMs in New York based on complaints about the undercounting of minorities, but now has refused to delay the deployment of LPMs in Chicago as well as in New York; and

WHEREAS, Because the LPM system undercounts minority viewers and because the Nielsen ratings are the sole measure of audience for television shows, minority viewers are deprived of an equal say in determining programming content that appeals to them and advertisers are deprived of accurate information; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Nielsen Media Research to delay its deployment of LPMs until it has thoroughly investigated and explained the reason for the undercount of minorities and developed and tested new approaches that correct this deficiency; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to Nielsen Media Research.