Allegation of Phony TV Ratings Denied : Former KDOC Official Testifies in Suit by Fired Ad Salesman

A former general manager of KDOC-TV testified in court Wednesday that he did not order his sales staff to use phony ratings, but he added that his personal estimates of television viewing audiences were better than those compiled by national ratings firms anyway.

Michael Volpe, general manager of Orange County’s only commercial station in 1983-86, contradicted the testimony of four present and former KDOC employees in the trial of a lawsuit brought by a former ad salesman who says he was fired unfairly.

Steve Conobre alleges in his suit that he was fired in part because he refused to use phony ratings. He has testified that Volpe not only ordered the staff to use bogus figures but said they should identify them as being from “ARB”--a statement allegedly designed to mislead potential advertisers into believing the figures were from the Arbitron Ratings Co.

Jobless After 26 Years

Volpe, who said he is not now employed after 26 years in the broadcasting industry, testified that the source of the claims was a sales meeting at which he presented his own estimates of TV viewing audiences.

“I jokingly said--when someone asked ‘where did you get these estimates?’--I said, ‘I estimated them. And if anyone asks you, say they came from the Anaheim Research Bureau,’ ” Volpe testified. “We laughed about it.”

The joking reference to the Anaheim Research Bureau was the “only time” it was ever mentioned at the station, Volpe told jurors.

The suggestion that the figures were phony or mislabeled “is a figment of his (Conobre’s) imagination,” Volpe said.

Those who have testified to the contrary were Conobre, former account executive Linda Ford, former KDOC employee Leonard Bell and Wanda Chavez, Volpe’s executive secretary and now an account executive with KDOC.

Reasons for Firing

Defendants in the lawsuit include Golden Orange Broadcasting Co. Inc., Volpe, director Calvin Brack and talk show host Wally George.

Conobre, now 66, alleges that his termination was a result of both the ratings dispute and his protests against favoritism showed by Volpe toward an ad saleswoman with whom he was alleged to be romantically involved.

George, angered when Conobre interfered with his own amorous pursuit of Ford, also tried to get him fired, Conobre alleges.

Under questioning by station lawyer Thomas Sheridan, Volpe testified that the station in 1983 could not afford the $600,000 a year it costs to subscribe to Arbitron or Nielson, the other major national ratings firm.

Ratings are used by some stations in setting prices for ad time.

But while he called Nielson and Arbitron figures the “bible” of the industry, Volpe questioned the accuracy of the ratings. He told jurors they are just estimates of viewing audiences.

The two rating services often disagree by several “points,” each of which represents more than 40,000 viewers, Volpe testified.

Neither is wrong, because it is impossible to prove which is accurate, Volpe said.

He said his own ratings estimates were based on his years of experience in the industry and contacts with ad agencies and other firms that did subscribe to the national services.

Volpe scoffed at the allegation that his ratings could have misled anyone.

“I know better--the (ad) agencies wouldn’t have bought it because they (knew) we’re not a subscriber (to Arbitron),” Volpe said.