Arbitron Notice - PPM Delay

Here is the notice that Arbitron sent to clients yesterday regarding the delay in releasing the Houston PPM numbers this week:

To: Subscribers to Arbitron’s Houston-Galveston PPM Weeklies Service

Houston-Galveston PPM Weeklies Data for Week 3 of May 2007, originally scheduled to release this morning at 10:00AM Central Time, will be rescheduled. While conducting quality control reviews, we observed some unusual listening patterns warranting further review. A rescheduling of the release date will allow the time necessary for additional quality control measures to help ensure we can have complete confidence in the audience estimates we release.

We will notify you as soon as a release date is available. We appreciate your patience and regret any inconvenience that may result. Please direct any questions to your Arbitron representative.

This morning's Inside Radio reports:

Arbitron isn't answering questions and there's no telling when the numbers will be will be released.  The note to clients suggests it may be more than just figuring out whether an individual panelist strapped a PPM to his dog.  Arbitron says it needs time to come up with "additional quality control measures to help ensure we can have complete confidence in the audience estimates."  In Philly - where PPM ratings are now the currency - there's no immediate impact.  But Arbitron says it may need to make adjustments if it decides changes are necessary beyond Houston. [ MORE ]

Just Say No: Viacom Nixes Commercial Ratings As Upfront Standard

WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT COMMERCIAL RATINGS will inevitably become the standard, Viacom has no plans to make upfront deals based on them this summer, the company's CEO said Friday.

But Viacom isn't the only cable programmer to express concerns that the new commercial ratings have accuracy issues. Many prefer to wait before using them in deal-making, despite some buyers' eagerness to use them posthaste.

Dauman did add that commercial ratings will ultimately emerge as the dominant currency.  [ MORE ]

Newark Star Ledger: People Meters let radio tune in to audiences

... the radio ratings game is about to catch up to technology. The imminent arrival of a device called a "Portable People Meter" in the New York radio market could spell big changes for listeners as programmers and advertisers get faster, more detailed and more accurate information about who listens to what.

Will rock stations come back into vogue? Is disco really dead? Will talk radio recover from the controversies involving Don Imus and various zinger-slinging shock jocks?

The Portable People Meter just might tell the tale.

The small electronic device, which gets clipped to a user like a cell phone, listens for signals embedded in programming and records that information. It goes beyond traditional radio, recognizing programming delivered via satellite radio and broadcast, cable and satellite TV. Arbitron says it can even detect cinema advertising.

In other words, if you can hear it, Arbitron will know.   [ MORE ]

P1's in a PPM World: New Insight Into Who Matters Most

DMR and Arbitron set to release groundbreaking PPM research this summer

CINCINNATI, Ohio – May 31, 2007   DMR, Arbitron and the University of Wisconsin's AC Nielsen Center for Marketing (UW-Madison) are set to release in depth PPM research this summer. The new study, entitled: P1's in a PPM World: New Insight Into Who Matters Most is the first-ever study of listener loyalty and preference (P1, P2, etc.) patterns over time. The research team analyzed over one year’s worth of daily panelist-by-panelist level data from Houston PPM.

...not all radio listeners are created equal: heavy radio users drive nearly 90% of the ratings. According to UW-Madison’s Ty Henderson PhD, “The listening preference patterns in this analysis mirrors what we see in many consumer products: a select few drive the majority of the category. Knowing who matters and who to target will be critical to stations’ marketing and programming.”

Another important finding is that not all P1's are created equal. Although this was more or less known to be true in the diary world, a new measure, "percent of listening" (POL) uncovers the select few who REALLY matter the most. In fact, even so-called "mass appeal" stations derive the majority of their listening from a very small, important group: less than 2% of the Houston market drives nearly half of the listening for a leading AC station. Bill Rose, senior vice president of marketing, Arbitron Inc. says, "Understanding P1 listening is crucial for radio programmers and this study will provide fresh insight into the dynamics of how it works in the PPM world.”   [ Full Text of the Release ]

PPMNews Note:  We will post a link to download the study as soon as it is available.

Radio INK: Hispanic Broadcasters Urged To Embrace The Future

Speaking during Wednesday (5/23) afternoon's Group Heads panel at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, Clear Channel senior vice president for Hispanic Radio Alfredo Alonso warned broadcasters that they must embrace all methods of expanding their brands and reaching listeners if they hope to compete in an ever-changing radio landscape.

... Alonso said this acceptance of new ideas must also extend to Arbitron's Portable People Meter. "The PPM is the new wave of measuring radio," he said. "We can't be afraid of it; we have to accept it. We need to do a better job of taking our medium and embracing new technology, so that advertisers feel we are embracing the audience. If we don’t' embrace this new technology, we will be left behind."  [ MORE ]

Forbes: Radio Redux

Q&A with John Hogan

After voicing concerns about the effectiveness and cost of Arbitron's Portable People Meter, Clear Channel agreed earlier this year to use the system in Philadelphia. Now that you're on board with PPM, how quickly do you expect to adopt it in other markets?

It depends on how quickly they commercialize it in other markets. We continue to have concerns about the PPM methodology and reliability, as well as the price. We are a very, very strong proponent of electronic measurement [but] it's baffling why in this instance, technology is making things more expensive, rather than less expensive.

We continue to talk with Arbitron and we've shared these same concerns with them. I'm not particularly impressed with it thus far. They're showing an increase in the number of listeners and a significant decrease in the amount of time people are spending with radio. I question the methodology. I question the way they assemble a [listener] panel, I question their ability to accurately reflect black and Hispanic listening.   [ MORE ]

Down for the Count

The credibility of Sydney's radio ratings system has been challenged for decades. So, as radio markets in the US begin to embrace electronic devices to measure audience numbers, expect renewed pressure on the radio industry here.

Fifteen years ago the Australian TV industry introduced an electronic measuring system, yet the radio industry still relies on the memory (and honesty) of householders to tick a box manually on a paper spreadsheet to record their listening habits.

...

In a couple of months, Warner's group will call for tenders for a new three-year ratings contract, worth about $20 million. Nielsen Media Research's current contract is due to expire at the end of next year. Warner says electronic measuring will be high on the agenda. Arbitron is expected to pitch its meters; another international market research company, Ipsos, is pushing the SmartPhone; and Nielsen is working on a third option, yet to be unveiled.  [ MORE ]

FMQB - What we've learned from the Philly PPM... So Far

Useful Insights for PPM and Diary Markets  by Gary Marince

With the successful launch of the Arbitron Portable People Meter as the official source of ratings in Philadelphia late last month, we’re witnessing history in the making: electronic ratings for radio is finally a reality. And as exciting as it is for markets who are converting to PPM, the lessons learned from Philadelphia and Houston are easily translatable to markets which may not see PPM anytime soon.

Keep in mind that PPM is actually a form of behavioral research. Among the benefits of using a panel of consumers who wear the PPM over a long period (as opposed to Diarykeepers who are engaged in the ratings process for only a week), we’re observing the same group of people using radio over time. We see how they change listening habits and often can associate why they do so. Programmers now have unprecedented insight into how people use and listen to radio.

So, what behaviors are we seeing and what lessons can we learn?  For programmers, the importance of P1 listening is...  [ MORE ]

Also see  ArbitronPDCentral.com Blog

MediaDailyNews: Media Researchers Live in Interesting Times

The past few years have witnessed a proliferation of new audience data from Nielsen as well as other research companies. But are agency media research departments adequately staffed to optimally analyze, understand and use this new data? Most of us are familiar with the ancient Chinese proverb, “may you live in interesting times” That sentiment is very appropriate in the field of media research.

For years, the industry has groused about Nielsen being slow to produce more and better data. Well, they’re producing lots of it now, with more planned. But guess what? There may not be enough people employed in media research departments at media agencies to do comprehensive, compelling analyses. (Starcom may be the exception.) And the demands on their time are likely to grow as additional communication channels are measured and audience data becomes more granular. Exciting times to be sure, but daunting challenges exist.

With so much new data to evaluate and explain–such as commercial ratings, product-placement exposures, engagement levels, DVR playback, etc.–do agencies have sufficient manpower? It wouldn’t surprise me if media research executives are kept awake at night (and distracted during the day) pondering how to analyze and synthesize all the new data and research services, while at the same time maintaining the high-quality servicing of their clients.  [ MORE ]

Radio Online: PPM Marketing Campaign Launches in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Radio Organization will launch a local marketing campaign to help drive the launch of Arbitron's Portable People Meter (PPM) in Philadelphia. Arbitron has agreed to provide significant seed money for program design, assistance with implementation of the plan in Philadelphia and rights to use the creative execution & campaign plan for other markets.  [ MORE ]