The Nielsen Company announced last week that it has rescheduled the May 2009 Sweeps period to exclude Memorial Day weekend. Anticipating atypical viewing estimates during the holiday weekend, NAB's Committee on Local Television Audience Measurement (COLTAM), along with other industry groups, urged Nielsen to exclude Memorial Day weekend from the May Sweeps period. May Sweeps are now scheduled for April 23 - May 20. Commenting on Nielsen’s actions, NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton said, "Nielsen's action is welcome news to television stations across America. By excluding the busy travel weekend of Memorial Day, the revised May Sweeps period will provide a more representative audience measurement for all television programming."