The Hollywood Reporter: Nielsen, DirecTV interacting

NEW YORK -- The Nielsen Co. and DirecTV Group Inc. have agreed to test new metrics to measure the daily viewing behavior of interactive television subscribers, the companies said Wednesday.

To test the new system, Nielsen will use aggregated and anonymous data from a panel of 300,000 DirecTV interactive customers.  [ MORE ]

Arbitron Inc. Reports 2006 Fourth Quarter and Year End Financial Results

New York, February 15, 2007 - Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) today announced results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2006.

For the fourth quarter 2006, the Company reported revenue of $79.3 million, an increase of 5.2 percent over revenue of $75.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2005.

For the year ended December 31, 2006, revenue was $329.3 million, an increase of 6.2 percent over revenue of $310.0 million for 2005.

Full Text of Release at Arbitron.com

MediaDaily: Nielsen Foe Uncovers 'Holy Grail,' It's Called Remo

OF THE MANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES that have attracted Spark Capital and a group of potential strategic partners to fledgling ratings firm erinMedia one is a patent for a new technology that has the potential for transforming not just media audience measurement, but the integration of media exposure and product usage data that some have long described as the "Holy Grail" of marketing and media research. The patent, which is still pending in the U.S. and key international markets, is the heart of a sophisticated TV remote control that would enable marketers and agencies to track what people were doing with their TV sets, as well as other media and, perhaps most importantly, what consumer products they buy.

...

But a glance at the formidable patent filing, nearly 47,000 words in all, offers a picture of a device that could do just about anything a marketer, an agency or a media company might want to know about a subscriber who chose to interact with it.   [ MORE ]

FMQB: Broadcasters To Fund Media Audit/Ipsos "Smart Cell Phone" Test

This morning at the RAB2007 conference in Dallas, The Media Audit/Ipsos announced that they will receive millions of dollars from broadcasters to test the Smart Cell Phone ratings system in the Houston market. Companies including Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Entercom and Radio One have all agreed to support a test of the ratings technology with a study that will include 2,500 Smart Cell Phone-carrying respondents. If the test goes well, The Media Audit/Ipsos says it could expand the technology to the Top 10 markets by the end of 2008 and the Top 50 markets by the end of 2009.  [ MORE ]

Media Audit Announcement at RAB

Inside Radio:  The Media Audit/Ipsos get millions from broadcasters for a full-market test in Houston.
Clear Channel, Cox, Cumulus, Entercom and Radio One have all agreed to support a test of the TMA/Ipsos electronic ratings technology with a study that will include 2500 Smart Cellphone-carrying respondents. If it goes well and there's continued support - The Media Audit/Ipsos group says it could quickly expand to the top 10 markets by the end of 2008 and the top 50 markets by the end of '09. That announcement came this morning at RAB2007 in Dallas - where Arbitron's People Meter is also featured on the exhibit floor.

From the Arbitron February Newsletter...

Houston-Galveston PPM Update
By now you’ve heard that Arbitron has received Media Rating Council accreditation for our Houston-Galveston PPM Radio Data. We are now consulting with our Houston customers to determine an appropriate switchover date from diary data to PPM currency.   2007-02-09

Arbitron Custom Sports Study

NOTE:  It will be fascinating to watch the results on this topic that come out of Philadelphia and Houston from PPM data.  When the PPM is finally rolled out in the home towns of Superbowl teams over next several years, there will be some amazingly rich data to mine.  MSO

Arbitron Custom Sports Study Finds the Run Up to the Super Bowl boosts Sports Radio audiences in Indianapolis and Chicago

Local radio coverage of NFL classic reaches one third of Indianapolis adults and one quarter of adults in Chicago

Super Bowl parties with friends and family boost out-of-home television viewing

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) has unveiled a custom sports study that profiles how adults aged 18 and older in Indianapolis and Chicago listened to and watched Super Bowl XLI on radio and television.

While the Super Bowl is a quintessential media event across the country, in the hometowns of the AFC and NFC contenders, Indianapolis fans bested their Chicago rivals in interest, attention and share of media coverage.  [ Full Text of Release at BusinessWire ]

Related story at MediaWeek

MediaWeek: Philly Becomes the PPM Proving Ground

NOTE:  This is a particularly good article about the PPM situation as it stands.  Well worth reading the full article at MediaWeek.  MSO

Fox new's Sean hannity has always been intrigued with Arbitron's Portable People Meter. As a TV personality he likes to pore over the previous night's ratings to gauge reaction to the topics and issues discussed. He'd like the same feedback in radio and may soon get his wish.

For advertisers and agencies, the transition can't come fast enough. "The diary needs to go away a lot faster than it is," says Kathy Crawford, president of local broadcast for MindShare. But for radio broadcasters, even those that admit the industry needs to join the 21st century, the diary could be a hard habit to break.  [ MORE ]

Handling Non-Subscribers

Note:  An email reply from Arbitron confirms that this article accurately represents the situation.

 

Radio ratings no longer list stations that don't pay up

Some radio stations in Syracuse are paying the price for failing to pay The Arbitron Co.

In a new policy, the ratings company is no longer publicly disclosing its survey data for any Syracuse station that isn't one of its subscribers.

...because results for nonsubscribing stations aren't included, it's not clear from these rankings whether another station tied or surged ahead into first or second place. Among those missing are nine stations owned by Galaxy Communications, including classic rock WTKW-FM (TK99) and alternative rock WKRL-FM (K-Rock), both of which finished in the top 10 in the summer.

This new policywent into effect after Galaxy's announcement last month that it would no longer subscribe to the Arbitron service because it found its $250,000-a-year price tag too expensive. [ MORE ]

Arbitron and Nielsen Formalize Project Apollo

Arbitron and The Nielsen Company Sign Agreement and Form Jointly-Owned Limited Liability Company to Continue Development of 'Project Apollo' Marketing Research Service

Proposed service would link the Arbitron Portable People Meter system with ACNeilsen Homescan Technology

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 1, 2007—Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) and The Nielsen Company announced today that they have signed an agreement that will govern completion of development and testing of the ‘Project Apollo’ marketing research service and the expansion of the pilot panel to a full national service if the test results meet expectations and generate marketplace support. The parties have formed a jointly-owned limited liability company to continue pursuit of the project.

The proposed ‘Project Apollo’ service would use the Arbitron Portable People Meter^TM system, ACNielsen Homescan technology and other technologies to provide advertisers with a better understanding of the connection between consumer exposure to advertising on multiple media and their shopping/purchase behavior.

“By making it possible to link the Arbitron Portable People Meter system with ACNielsen Homescan technology, this agreement between Arbitron and The Nielsen Company will help make real the industry’s long standing dream of a true, ‘single-source’ consumer research service,” said Steve Morris, president and chief executive officer, Arbitron Inc.

Full Text of Press Release at Arbitron.com

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