The Independent Task Force on Television Measurement has urged the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the House Commerce Committee not to approve legislation that would require a new oversight of TV ratings.
The bills in question, H.R.3298 and S. 1372, would make accreditation of TV ratings mandatory by law, and limit Nielsen's ability to introduce new and improved measurement systems.
Under the terms of the bills introduced by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY), a television ratings service would have to be fully accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) — currently a voluntary industry self-regulatory body — before it could be introduced into a market. Moreover, any existing service that does not have MRC accreditation would have to stop operating. The Task Force chairwoman is urging the members of the Senate and House Commerce Committees to support a continuing free market process for dealing with ratings issues.
The full Task Force letters to the Senate and House Commerce Committees can be found at: www.everyonecounts.tv/press/documents/tf_congress.pdf.
