Nielsen Cancels Fall 2017 Ratings For Puerto Rico.

Nielsen will not issue Fall 2017 ratings for Puerto Rico as the U.S. Island territory continues to deal with the after-effects of Hurricane Maria’s widespread destruction. Nielsen, which suspended survey operations in the area prior to the storm making landfall, said, “Due to the very severe and extensive damage from the storm, operations have remained suspended.”

Hurricane Maria caused unpredented devastation on Puerto Rico upon making landfall, knocking electrical service completely offline and making it difficult to get an initial assessment of how many broadcast stations were off the air. Among the few outlets that maintained the capability to broadcast amid the ferocious storm was Wifredo Blanco Pi’s WAPA Radio “La Poderosa” network.

Besides the fact that many radio stations continue to deal with damaged facilities and power issues, Nielsen said, “We do not expect to be able to complete a survey that meets Nielsen quality standards given the extent of the ongoing disruptions to power, phone and mail services in the market.” Many prospective diary keepers simply cannot perform the requirements even as stations come back on-air.

The ratings company plans to put out the Summer 2017 results as planned on Tuesday (October 10), as only the final week of the summer ratings period was affected by Hurricane Irma. The Summer Ratings period runs June 22-Sept. 13.

“Nielsen carefully monitored performance metrics before, during and after [Irma],” the company said Monday in a memo to clients. “Although the hurricane may have disrupted individual diary keepers, the Nielsen Data Science review of sample performance metrics for the survey supports the release of audience estimates for the full twelve-week Summer survey period.”

The company did note that “some stations may have experienced technical difficulties or offered special programming in response to the Hurricane,” which could affect ratings performance.

Nielsen said it is working to “assess and restore operations as soon as possible.” The measurement giant said it will provide an update regarding the Winter 2018 and Spring 2018 surveys when they have information available.

Nielsen Cancels Fall 2017 Ratings For Puerto Rico.