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 ]

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.

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

Arbitron, Coleman and Media Monitors Release Study on New Country Music

Landmark Study Reveals that New Songs Do Not Undermine the Audience of Country Radio Stations

The full report from the What Happens When New Music Gets Played: The Impact of New Songs on the Radio Audience study is now available from Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB), Coleman and Media Monitors. This is the landmark study the three companies previewed at last month’s Country Radio Seminar in Nashville in a presentation by Coleman president Jon Coleman.

Through an extensive analysis of data from Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) measurement of Houston radio listening and music monitoring data from Media Monitors, What Happens When New Music Gets Played: The Impact of New Songs on the Radio Audience reveals how the exposure of new songs on KILT-FM did not undermine the station’s audience levels.  [ MORE ]

Full Text of Press Release

Download PDF of the Report

Radio Ink: Unlocking They Mystery Of "Phantom Cume"

"For years, we have known there is "phantom cume" to be unlocked," Arbitron VP/PPM Sales John Snyder said yesterday, noting the long-held belief that the diary ratings system fell short when it came to recording listeners' total cume listening. Speaking at Arbitron's annual Consultant's Fly-In, Snyder said that while format is a major driver of which stations exhibit higher cume levels, its also becoming clear that most of the cume is coming from casual listeners.  [ MORE ]

B&C: English Speaking Hispanics More Mobile Viewers than Spanish Speakers

If the Latin Grammys are any indication, English-speaking Hispanics are more mobile TV viewers than their Spanish-speaking counterparts.  According to Arbitron's test of Portable People Meters in 10th-largest-market Houston, out-of-home viewing by the Spanish-speaking 18-49 audience was 17.2%, still above the average, while it was 24.3% for primarily English-speaking Hispanic viewers.  [ MORE ]

JacoBlog: Wireless Substitution

Fred Jacobs, of Jacobs Media, highlights in his blog today the study by Telephia regarding the emergence of "cell phone only households" and notes the speed with which the trend is developing:

For radio, this Telephia study is a reminder that the Arbitron world (and the research that stations continue to pay thousands of dollars for) continues to miss ample chunks of the American public.  Our technologies and methodologies just can't keep up with changing media and communication habits.

PPM News posted a story on this topic in the context of the sample frames that Arbitron will use in Philadelphia and beyond versus what they are using in Houston.  See "Sample Frame: Address vs Telephone."

Read his full post at JacoBlog

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Arbitron/ Coleman Commercial Tune-out Study

Radio Holds More Than 92% of Its Lead-In Audience During the Average Commercial Break

New Study from Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman Dispels Industry Perception That Listeners Tune Away from Commercials in Large Numbers

Radio ratings data from Arbitron's Portable People Meter and commercial occurrence data from Media Monitors indicate that the lowest rated minute during an average commercial break is 92 percent of the size of the audience before the spots began, according to a new study by Arbitron, Inc. (NYSE: ARB), Media Monitors and Coleman.

What Happens When the Spots Come On: The Impact of Commercials on the Radio Audience is the first in a series of studies on the radio audience behavior during commercials using the power of passive electronic measurement, both for audiences and for commercial occurrences.

The study dispels the mistaken belief among advertisers, agencies and radio executives that radio loses a considerable portion of its audience during commercial breaks.

Full Press Release at Arbitron.com

Download the Study at Arbitron.com

This Study and Other PPM Info at ColemanInsights.com

New Programming Tips You Can Use For The Fall Book

by ARBITRON Gary Marince, VP/Product Development

We’re just a few weeks away from the start of the Fall rating period, and I would like to share three important suggestions for the survey, including two audience behaviors that we discovered using PPM measurement but could be valuable in the diary world.

Tip No. 1 –  [ Full Story at FMQB ]