U.S. Overestimates TV Marti Viewership, Report Says

The Bush Administration has vastly overestimated the viewership of TV Marti, whose broadcast since March has been marked by Cuban government jamming, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The U.S. Information Agency estimated that 1 million to 7 million Cubans watched the station, which broadcasts American entertainment and news shows to the Communist-ruled island from Florida.

But the General Accounting Office, in an unpublished report obtained by the Miami Herald, cited notes by U.S. diplomats who estimated an audience of only 50,000 to 70,000.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, faulted the USIA’s methods in two viewership surveys, which polled Cuban refugees and emigres arriving at Miami International Airport between March 28 and May 12.

The survey subjects “would be more interested in and aware of TV Marti than the general population” because they were leaving Cuba, the GAO report said.

Congress has been assessing the results since receiving a report from President Bush on the station’s 90-day test period. The time for review ends today and certification by the President is needed for the broadcasts to continue.

The station began transmitting on March 27. Its signal frequently is beamed to Havana from 3:45 a.m. to 5:59 a.m., when state-run stations are not transmitting. Officials have said TV Marti’s directors do not want to overlap with Cuban stations or to further aggravate the Cuban government.

TV Marti’s signal often is partially blocked by Cuban jamming.