• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

And the ARB "servicing" continues

A

amfmsw

Advancing the conversation of irrelevency of Arbitron on a previous thread, it's going to get worse. Now, not only will they continue with the deletion of non-subscribers to anyone but those who purchase "the book", Arb is no longer going to include ANY simulcasts, translators, online listening with the ratings! But WILL include them for Subscribers.

These stations that buy the service DO pay a lot. But NOW, Arbitron will allow them to push themselves ahead by discounting all efforts by the little guys, while INCLUDING all their clients. Example:

WPGG will include 1450, 100.3FM (when added) and all online listening.
WOND will ONLY register 1400. NO 1580 with it, NO online combo numbers will be added. Fair? More important, Correct reporting?

WMID 1340 will include 1230 and online.
WIBG-AM will include 1020. (Will they only rate it daytime?) NOT the 24 hour 101.3FM translator (when added).
WTKU will ONLY register 98.3, NOT 1490 with it, no online. (They might IF 1490 changed calls to WTKU-AM with 100% simulcast -WTKU am/fm-they also might just put them on seperate lines!)
WIBG-FM will only register 94.3, no 92.3 translator with it, no online, no smartphone/smartdash will be included.

Basically, stations are going to need to closely look at their branding. This is grossly unfair. RBR agrees. Here's the story.

http://rbr.com/gary-burns-to-arb-fcc-doj-total-line-policy-unfair/
 
Why does Arbitron's careful handling of their proprietary data make them "irrelevant?" Because you don't like that you will have to pay to get meaningful analysis?

If you have a business need for the data, you pay for it.

If you are a non-subscriber trying to use the data for business purposes, you're out of luck. If you are an enthusiast, you're also out of luck. And, to be honest, Arbitron has no need to service the latter two groups.
 
If I understand this correctly... and it's a big if... the problem would be that it will skew the apparent relative strength of the stations in what is presented by subscribers to others (e.g. sales), thus making subscribers' stations appear to have a stronger relative position in the market. Your #5 in a particular demo could jump to #3 if #3 and #4 were previously assisted by online listening or translator. That would be very different from omitting non-subscribers' numbers in public disclosure, as it would essentially be changing the appearance of the numbers, without looking deeper, in a way that makes subscribers look better. (Again, that is assuming I got this correctly.)
 
That strikes me as a wrong thing to do. Stations who subscribe are selling against stations that don't, and artificially depressing the numbers for non-subscribers reeks of fraud.

/says the guy whose station isn't getting rated either way...
 
The only people who matter in all this are advertising media buyers and - to a lesser extent - station sales reps.

What's irrelevant to Arbitron, to ad agencies and to stations are people on message boards following the AQH share (or cume) horse race.

I know you all don't want to believe that.
 
Well, okay. If advertising media buyers want to make those buys based on misrepresentation of non-subscriber numbers, that's their lookout.
 
Since the ratings are not true or reliable, it makes the medium irellevant as an advertising outlet.

Whoe does it matter to? it matters to the jobs lost at small stations because of lost advertising. Lost business at advertisers because they invested in an outlet to market themselves when their true audience was really somehwere else.

That's why it matters. Subscribers are boosted, non-subscribers will be listed, but supressed.
 
amfmsw said:
Since the ratings are not true or reliable, it makes the medium irellevant as an advertising outlet.
Click to expand...

Bingo! That's what major agencies and advertisers concluded some time ago. That's why radio has seen its share of ad budgets decline. Agencies and advertisers often don't bother with radio.
 
It's sad that Arbitron is taking unusual steps to maintain its subscriber base. I believe in the end the actions aforementioned by the ratings giant may actually lead to its demise.

Your thoughts? :)
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom