Boston People Meters get mixed reviews

Nielsen's announcement this week that it will use People Meters as its standard method for collecting audience data in Boston next year was greeted with enthusiasm by the local advertising and cable communities, but not by local TV stations.

Most stations, Nielsen acknowledged, are taking a "wait and see" attitude, while one, WHDH-TV, has told local media it will not participate. That station's owner, Sunbeam Television, pulled its WSNV-TV Miami temporarily out of Nielsen's service due to a dispute over the measurement of Hispanic households.

Nielsen says its advanced electronic measurements will be necessary as television goes digital.
- Dan Trigoboff