A federal judge rejected Arbitron’s attempt to block a lawsuit by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over its Portable People Meter ratings methodology.
Arbitron sought a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the N.Y. AG. The decision by U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York Denise Cote allows Cuomo’s lawsuit to proceed.
In response, Arbitron said the ruling does not affect its right to publish PPM audience estimates in New York.
“Now that Arbitron has commercialized the PPM service in New York and other key markets, we look forward to defending our interests. Broadcasters, agencies and advertisers need continual PPM audience estimates if radio is to remain competitive in an increasingly complex and crowded media marketplace,” stated Arbitron.
Cuomo’s lawsuit alleges that Arbitron deceptively claimed the PPM is a fair representation of the radio market and he said PPM undercounts minority listeners; Arbitron says the allegations are not true.
