Horribly gerrymandered Arbitron markets

[NoWayNoCC]

I think I've had my fill of Arbitron using ridiculously gerrymandered geographic definitions for its radio metros. All this business about the new Hudson Valley market is the final straw. The Hudson Valley gerrymander only benefits one station that I can think of.

Believe me, I know my counties, and some of Arbitron's definitions are plumb goofy.

I think it might actually be more accurate to use the OMB-defined metropolitan areas (CBSA's) - except when you're dealing with a humongous county that the OMB won't split.

 

[davideduardo]

I think I've had my fill of Arbitron using ridiculously gerrymandered geographic definitions for its radio metros. All this business about the new Hudson Valley market is the final straw. The Hudson Valley gerrymander only benefits one station that I can think of.

Believe me, I know my counties, and some of Arbitron's definitions are plumb goofy.

I think it might actually be more accurate to use the OMB-defined metropolitan areas (CBSA's) - except when you're dealing with a humongous county that the OMB won't split.

I think that a majority of MSAs in Arbitron are the same as MSAs and CMSAs from the OMB.

However, Arbitron uses a based on a combination of commute patterns and actual radio listening to "home" stations to add or removed counties from a metro. Since the coverage of stations, terrain and proximity to other metros can affect this in ways different from the OMB benchmarks for a metro, the areas will necessarily be different in some cases.

Absorbing metros is a different matter... for Miami and ft Lauderdale to match the CMSA metro, the subscribing stations in the two separate markets voted in 1981 on merging the markets. Similarly, an initiative to add the Inland Empire market to the LA MSA failed due to voting.

The smaller markets are essentially custom geographies based on a few stations being willing to subscribe. And there are metros without ratings when the local stations do not want to subscribe.

Perhaps the classic case is Puerto Rico, which has 5 MSA's per the OMB, and one CMSA made up of two MSAs. Yet Radio ratings consider the entire island a single metro, because it was that way well before Arbitron arrived... so market forces determined the market dimensions. Advertisers did not want 5 different books, so stations required a total island market area.

IIRC, there are only a handful of split counties... Contra Costa in SF is one that is split with half being in the SF market. A part of a Fairfield in the NYC market is in the MSA. Riverside County in CA is part of the IE market and another part is the Palm Springs market. San Bernardino has a part of the IE, and the Victor Valley market... but both these last two are counties as big as a number of whole states.

 

[davideduardo]

I think I've had my fill of Arbitron using ridiculously gerrymandered geographic definitions for its radio metros. All this business about the new Hudson Valley market is the final straw. The Hudson Valley gerrymander only benefits one station that I can think of.

Believe me, I know my counties, and some of Arbitron's definitions are plumb goofy.

I think it might actually be more accurate to use the OMB-defined metropolitan areas (CBSA's) - except when you're dealing with a humongous county that the OMB won't split.

As an addition, here is the very latest (today) from Arbitron....

Redefining an Arbitron Diary Metro
Arbitron's policies involving Metro Survey Area definitions were last updated in 1998. In 2010, a review of those policies was conducted by a cross-functional team within Arbitron as well as with input from the Arbitron Radio and Agency/Advertiser Advisory Councils. The review validated the original process established in 1998, but led to revisions of specific thresholds.
Criteria for Adding or Removing a County
These are the criteria used to determine if a county may be added to a Metro:
• The county is contiguous to a county within the Metro and;
• The combined total of listening and commuting percentages to Metro counties must equal at least 701 and,
o At least 55% of listening reported in the county during the previous year's Spring and Fall surveys are credited to Metro stations2
In conjunction with a Metro redefinition, all counties meeting the above criteria must be included in a redefined Metro and any counties not meeting the above criteria must be removed from the Metro.
Redefinition Target Criteria
As part of the redefinition analysis, Arbitron calculates an In-Tab target based on Metro rank, report type and frequency of measurement.
Process
Arbitron will assist subscribers by providing commuting and listening data pertinent to the Metro. Only after carefully evaluating these reports should a subscriber consider submitting a contract addendum (called the "Request Form for Formal Metro Redefinition Evaluation"). Submitting and signing this addendum/form by at least 75% of all home-to-Metro subscribers binds the requesting parties to all the requirements and outcomes of the evaluation.3
Note: there is a separate process and additional criteria for redefining adjacent Metros into a single Metro and Dual-City Market redefinitions.
Implementing the Metro Redefinition
Arbitron's Metro evaluation results are final. Changes in the Metro definition will take effect with the Spring and Fall survey periods and will remain in effect for at least three (3) years after implementation.