NHMC Lacks Loot for Nielsen Suit
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/23/2004 6:26:00 PM
Alex Nogales, president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, would like to sue Nielsen Media Research to block its rollout of "Local People Meters," but he doesn't have that kind of money.
Meanwhile, Nogales says his allies, the Don’t Count Us Out Coalition, which had also threatened to sue, don’t plan to, either.
I am told it would cost between $250,000 and a half-million dollars, he told B&C, and we don't have that kind of money. He says Don't Count Us Out doesn’t have that kind of money either, and is afraid of getting countersued by Nielsen. He also puts Fox in that camp.
He says he approached the network, but "they are hesitant. I don't think they are going to cough up that kind of money. They are concerned about a lawsuit, too."
Nogales says that unless he can raise the money in the next 10 days, he won't sue. Another fear is running out of money, dropping out, then being sued by Nielsen for filing a frivolous lawsuit. "That would pretty much bankrupt us," he says.
Top Hispanic broadcasters Univision has already filed suit in California to block the L.A. roll-out of the meters, planned for early July.
Meter critics claim the devices undercount broadcast viewing of minorities. Nielsen counters that they simply better track the flight of those viewers to other media.
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