KKLZ...what makes them win?

[searadiofreak]

I see a classic hits (or greatest hits), depending on your definitions is winning in Vegas. Opinions needed on why they win.

 

[Eggman]

In my opinion, it is because of PPM methodology and little else. It doesn't take much listening to see it isn't the product. To get a clearer picture, go back to 2007, after they switched to the current format, but before PPM came in. The numbers were terrible and the station generated virtually no interest among locals. Then PPM came in, and voila! Top five, without any significant changes in programming. Other stations also benefited in the same way, while still others that had been doing quite well, suddenly were declared unpopular. This has happened in market after market, including Las Vegas. "Winning" apparently means getting your signal out into large open areas (like a client's store), and away from listeners who might actually listen.

 

[bilco]

ALternately, it may be that previous people filling out their ratings diaries were just putting down what they thought they shoulddddd, not what they were actually listening to. Now with PPM we are seeing what is actually being heard. If the signal is being heard in enough "client stores", that means that the clients are listening and their customoers are hearing the advertisers message. That is actual listeners, not some pipe dream of a rater putting down things that just aren't so. PPM has it's faults at times, but it is a measurement of actuality , not wishful thinking.

 

[Eggman]

It's all in what you believe, and what you learn by staying in touch with listeners by means other than ratings services.

 

[Lazy J]

PPM is far more accurate than diary. You can debate it all day long, but the truth is, there are quite a few formats that listeners LOVE but aren't exactly acceptable work-place listening. Rock and Hip-hop are two such formats. A diary listener might fudge the numbers for their favorite station or completely disregard that their boss makes them listen to soft rock all day. Just because you don't LIKE a station doesn't mean your not hearing it all day long.

Also, heritage stations often benefit from "brand confusion" with diary listeners. "Oh, I always listen to KXXX country station!" but in reality they jump back and forth. PPM gives credit where credit is due.

PPM has caused a few ugly trends in radio formatting, but it doesn't make it inaccurate.

 

[davideduardo]

In my opinion, it is because of PPM methodology and little else.

An (over) simplified explanation is...

The PPM measures TSL and Cume.

The diary measures TSL, Cume and Memory.

Stations that were very top of mind got rounded upwards as listeners remembered listening "from 6 AM to 9 AM" and similar long periods. In fact, those 3 hours were peppered with interruptions like hitting the snooze button till 6:20, taking out the trash, taking the kids to the bus stop, and so on. So the 3 hours were more like a total of 80 or 90 minutes, in lots of short incidents. But the diary does not show that... it showed 3 full hours.

And stations that market extensively, or are format exclusive or which specialized in niche audiences benefit from the memory aspect.

Station that a person also uses, but are less top of mind do not, often, get written into the diary. People don't remember listening. Stations someone else picks don't get written in, often, either. But in the PPM, that secondary listening and imposed listening gets recorded much more accurately because the memory aspect is not in play.

Both methods are statistical samples, and will have "the unexplainable" on occasion. But passive measurement is inherently better as it does not depend on the frail human memory. Just as cops know that eyewitness reports of a crime are fraught with inaccuracy because the memories play tricks on the witness, we know that the diary is also subject to considerable distortion.

 

[radiopunk999]

KKLZ is mass appeal and mass appeal wins in PPM. Not to mention, unlike many other "Oldies" or "Classic Hits" stations, they have a really good local AM show.