In the newest big attack on Nielsen’s controversial people-meters in urban areas, Spanish broadcasting giant Univision sued yesterday for an injunction to block the ratings system.
Nielsen Media Research has angered most of the television industry over the way it wants to measure television viewing in big urban areas – including New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago – using a different system than the one normally used in ratings counts.
Critics say the new Nielsen ratings plan excludes many minority viewers and distorts the true audience for networks and TV stations. Univision sued in Los Angeles to block the start of local people-meter ratings in Los Angeles, set for July 8.
Nielsen already rolled out the plan in New York City a week ago, despite a widening protest by TV groups including CBS, Fox and Tribune Co.
Fox and The Post are both owned by News Corporation.
Chicago’s roll-out is set for early August. Sources said that if the Los Angeles injunction works, it could be used to unwind the system in New York and also block it in Chicago.
Univision said in its lawsuit that the system Nielsen is using to count minority viewers is “faulty and deceptive,” and causes a ratings report that essentially is “false and misleading advertising and promotion by Nielsen.”
Univision reaches 40 percent of the Los Angeles market with its TV operations, and also produces the city’s No.1 newscast in any language, at its KMEX-TV.
People meters have been in selected homes around the U.S. since 1987 for counting national ratings, but never before complied local programming ratings on a city-by-city basis.