Leading Spanish-Language Radio Broadcasters Join Forces to Express Concerns About Arbitron's Flawed Portable People Meter (PPM)

Leading Spanish-Language Radio Broadcasters Join Forces to Express Concerns About Arbitron's Flawed Portable People Meter (PPM)

NEW YORK, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The leading Spanish-language radio broadcasters in the U.S., including Spanish Broadcasting System (NASDAQ:SBSA) , Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC), Univision Communications Inc. and Border Media Partners, have formed an industry-focused coalition to voice concerns about Arbitron's proposed rollout of the flawed Portable People Meter (PPM) and the potentially harmful impact it could have in the industry as it relates to measuring Spanish-language media. The newly created group has been named the Spanish Radio Association ("SRA").

The group held a meeting with Arbitron on June 6, 2008 during which they advocated the importance of properly evaluating the Hispanic audience measurement capabilities and effectiveness of Arbitron's PPM before its full-scale implementation.

Representing the major Spanish-language broadcasters were Raul Alarcon, Jr., chief executive officer and president of Spanish Broadcasting Systems; Gary Stone, president and chief operating officer of Univision Radio; Jeffery Liberman, president of Entravision's radio division; and Jeff Hinson, president and chief executive officer of Border Media Partners. Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) also attended the meeting to support the group's strong concerns, and he reminded Arbitron's chief executive officer Steve Morris that PPM will not only affect Spanish-language broadcasters but every Hispanic in the country.

"Ensuring that the next generation of audience measurement is accurately developed, tested, accredited, and ultimately accepted by the entire radio industry, is of critical importance," said Alarcon. "The Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing rapidly and becoming more influential, while Spanish-language radio is becoming one of the most popular formats in the country. With that in mind, Arbitron must take the necessary steps towards understanding the impact this audience measurement tool will have on one of the industry's most important constituencies."

"Hispanic buying power is growing substantially and was estimated to be in excess of $840 billion dollars in the United States in 2007. Based on this growth, it is extremely important that Arbitron ensures sound methodology and representation of Hispanics," added Liberman. "We urge Arbitron not to move forward with the rollout of PPM until all ethnic broadcasters are satisfied that the principles of fair market representation are being fulfilled."

"We are 100% committed to ensuring accountability to advertisers, viewers and partners," said Ceril Shagrin, executive vice president, Corporate Research Division, Univision Communications Inc. "However, this means we need to have accurate and actionable data. It is imperative that Arbitron ensures PPM effectively measures all audience segments before implementation. Any inaccuracy will impact the entire industry as it will not be reliable or credible."

As part of the meeting, the SRA highlighted several key issues with PPM that need to be addressed before moving forward with the rollout, including panel sample size, the increased response rates, accurately identifying and tracking panelists' country of origin, improved language weighting, accurate cell phone-only representation, fair measurement when it comes to high-density Hispanic areas and sharing of more detailed sample information including meter placement according to zip codes, among others.

The group intends to meet regularly with Arbitron in an effort to ensure any sample includes accurate measurement of Hispanic audiences in all markets that will be launching PPM as currency.

About Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc.

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is the largest publicly traded Hispanic-controlled media and entertainment company in the United States. SBS owns and/or operates 21 radio stations located in the top Hispanic markets of New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Puerto Rico, including the #1 Spanish-language radio station in America, WSKQ-FM in New York City, as well as 4 of the Top 7 rated radio stations airing the Tropical, Mexican Regional, Spanish Adult Contemporary and Urban format genres. The Company also owns and operates Mega TV, a television operation serving the South Florida market with national distribution through DirecTV Mas. SBS also produces live concerts and events throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. In addition, the Company operates www.LaMusica.com, a bilingual Spanish-English online site providing content related to Latin music, entertainment, news and culture. The Company's corporate Web site can be accessed at www.spanishbroadcasting.com

About Univision Radio

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 97% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 85% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavision, the country's leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 63 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 70 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; and Univision Online, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at http://www.univision.com/. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa's pay television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

About Entravision Communications Corporation

Entravision Communications Corporation is a diversified Spanish-language media company utilizing a combination of television and radio operations to reach Hispanic consumers across the United States, as well as the border markets of Mexico. Entravision is the largest affiliate group of both the top-ranked Univision television network and Univision's TeleFutura network, with television stations in 20 of the nation's top 50 Hispanic markets. The company also operates one of the nation's largest groups of primarily Spanish-language radio stations, consisting of 48 owned and operated radio stations. Entravision shares of Class A Common Stock are traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: EVC. The company's corporate website can be found at www.entravision.com.

About Border Media Partners

Border Media Partners owns and/or operates 30 radio stations in five Texas markets including San Antonio, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo, and Waco.

Source: Entravision Communications Corporation

CONTACT: Joe Lobello of Brainerd Communicators, +1-212-986-6667,
lobello@braincomm.com, for Entravision Communications Corporation

Web site: http://www.entravision.com/
http://www.spanishbroadcasting.com/
http://www.univision.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment