Media Rating Council Accredits Portable People Meter AQH Television Ratings Data in Houston

PPM becomes the first accredited portable meter service, collecting data on radio, local television and cable use from one sample of consumers, at home and away

NEW YORK; Aug 1, 2007 – Arbitron Inc. (NYSE:ARB) announced today that the Media Rating Council® (MRC) has accredited the average-quarter-hour, time-period television ratings data produced by the Portable People MeterTM ratings service in Houston.

“This is a significant milestone for Arbitron,” said Owen Charlebois, president, Operations, Technology and Research & Development, Arbitron Inc. “The Portable People Meter is the only personal, portable electronic meter system that’s ever been subjected to an MRC audit and has met the accreditation standards of the Media Rating Council for a portable meter service, collecting data on radio, local television and cable use from one sample of consumers, at home and away from home."

[ Full Text of Press Release ]

Arbitron Releases Philly PPM Data For May

...“Some have suggested that P1 can be seen as a measure of 'loyalty' or 'engagement.' In the case of the Philadelphia May data, you see that eight stations garner more than two-thirds of their AQH audience from P1 listeners with Contemporary Inspirational WPPZ-FM at the top of the ranker at 79 percent.

“The new PPM metric that replaces time spent listening – Average Weekly Time Exposed – also says a lot about the 'loyalty' and 'engagement' of P1 listeners. In the May 2007 Philadelphia PPM data, two stations, Smooth Jazz WJJZ-FM and Urban Adult Contemporary WDAS-FM have a time spent exposed among their P1 listeners at 10 hours or greater.  [ MORE ]

If Clear Channel Supported The Portable Truth Meter

... This is all about one company -- the largest with over 1,100 radio stations and a near monopoly over this medium -- shirking its responsibility to lead. Not only that -- using its might and influence to obstruct progress for many things that would have been good for radio after consolidation.

Clear Channel has opposed The Portable People Meter (PPM) from the very beginning. It has done little to help it develop into the modern ratings tool the radio industry needs.

If you were to hook up a portable "truth meter" to Clear Channel executives you'd get an ironic story of resistance, lack of leadership and eventually -- once the ad agencies are on board -- compliance.

... Can you imagine if CBS/Infinity or Emmis, AMFM, Greater Media or just about any other company had assembled 1,100 radio stations. I believe things would have been different.  [ MORE ]

Oldies' New Lease on Life, Or Maybe An Extended Warranty

...So without knowing what plans the CBS folks might have really had for heritage Oldies station WOGL Philadelphia, it didn't beggar credibility when rumors began circulating this spring that a Web address had been reserved for Fresh981.com. WOGL was a top-five station 12-plus. But, hey, what did that mean anymore?

Then Arbitron made the March PPM figures for Philadelphia public. And while it was hardly an apples-to-apples comparison, WOGL was no longer a 4.5-share 12-plus radio station (still a respectable number by comparison to many of its brethren) but a 7.5-share radio station. Two months later, it's in the high six-share range, No. 4 12-plus in the market and No. 5 in 25-54. And in a format hit by the combination of aging and attrition, having "only" a 4.5 share is a lot easier to walk away from than a 7.5. [ MORE ]

WSJ: Arbitron Scores a Hit as Clear Channel Picks Radio-Ratings System

In a major win for Arbitron Inc., Clear Channel Communications Inc. has agreed to a broad deal to use Arbitron's new electronic radio-ratings system, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The radio-station chain is expected to sign a multiyear agreement to subscribe to Arbitron's "portable people meter" -- or PPM -- system to measure radio audience. The contract covers the [ MORE ]

Trends to Watch

Michael Tchong (Ubercool Trend Analyst) posted a very interesting article today on iMedia Connection entitled, "5 Trends to Watch... or Else!"  The post is a fascinating read.  But this note caught my eye:

The New York Times reports that in Manhattan, where the population is growing at an annual rate of about 10,000, the 2007 Verizon White Pages was 142 pages smaller than the 2006 edition, as more consumers give up landlines.

The surging use of wireless devices to keep us connected is leading to a "instant on" culture. Gartner predicts that an astonishing 1.15 billion mobile phones will be sold this year, up 14 percent over 2006.

Tonight, add a prayer that Arbitron's got the cell phone only household initiative right.  MSO

[ iMedia Connection: Which current consumer habits will impact digital marketing most profoundly? ]

MediaPost - Commercial Ratings: Yes, but...

THE DEVELOPMENTS OF THE PAST 12 to 18 months regarding commercial ratings have certainly been fascinating to follow. With continued pressure from advertisers for increased accountability, it's encouraging to see the industry getting closer to more precise and relevant data. And regardless of its quality at this early stage, the data has been laid in front of buyers and sellers who must now come to terms with it and figure out how to shape and work on its evolution. However, in the industry's mad dash to obtain average commercial ratings, I believe a crucial issue has been overlooked. Specifically, how compliant are members of Nielsen households in "punching out" on their People Meters when they leave the room during commercial breaks?

... While average commercial audiences are reported to be lower than program minutes, advertisers/agencies may find themselves still paying for some viewers who aren't actually present. That's why it's important for continued industry pressure on Nielsen for deployment of a passive meter, perhaps similar to the one being used by Arbitron in Houston and Philadelphia as well as in the test of Project Apollo (the joint venture between Arbitron & Nielsen). This meter picks up imbedded audio signals (for radio and some in-store media as well) and dispenses with button punching by respondents.

... Analyses of minute-by-minute data show that during the average commercial minute, audiences are generally 5% to 10% lower than during the average program minute. But does this reflect the reality of TV viewing? 20 years ago a company named RD Percy tested a passive heat meter for TV measurement. I recall reviewing a presentation that showed audience levels dropped significantly, 25% to 40% during some commercial breaks. That strongly suggests that Nielsen overreports audience levels during commercial breaks. It would be helpful if Arbitron had minute-by-minute data to share from Houston & Philadelphia that might confirm (or refute) that audiences indeed drop more than what the People Meter reports.  [ MORE ]

Column: Radio Activity

Big deal for B101 owner Jerry Lee, who on Sept. 28 will get the National Radio Award from the National Association of Broadcasters. Lee is a rare solo owner of a big-signal FM radio station. Light rock WBEB (101.1) had the highest audience share in Philly in May, according to Arbitron figures released yesterday.

WDAS-FM (105.3) saw a ratings bounce last month. Arbitron figures say the urban adult-contemporary station rose from fifth to second in the "money demographic" of listeners ages 25 to 54, behind rock WMMR (93.3). In third was B101, followed by oldies WMGK (102.9) and classic hits WOGL (98.1). Among listeners 18 to 34, WMMR was tops, followed by top-40 WRDW (96.5), top-40 WIOQ (102.1) and a tie between hip-hoppers WPHI (100.3) and WUSL (98.9).

WJJZ (97.5), the smooth jazz outlet, should be [ MORE ]

RW Online: Arbitron Cites User Commitment to PPMs

Arbitron, saying its panelists are committed to PPM, passed along anecdotes about people who wear the Portable People Meter.

“Many of our PPM panelists go to great lengths themselves to live up to their commitment to carry the meter with them wherever they go,” the company stated in a press release.

In one household with seven people, everyone had a meter except a 4-year-old who was...  [ MORE ]

PPM Data Released in Houston

Without editorial or fanfare, Arbitron released the Houston PPM data this afternoon - late but confident that it had passed their quality assurance review.