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PPM

And a lot of those commenting wouldn't even bother to wear a PPM device but vote to support stations like KEXP with their own dollars. I'd say KEXP has a lot of positives to sell underwriters on, even if PPM doesn't show them very well.
 
JimmyJames said:
And a lot of those commenting wouldn't even bother to wear a PPM device but vote to support stations like KEXP with their own dollars. I'd say KEXP has a lot of positives to sell underwriters on, even if PPM doesn't show them very well.
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So let me get this straight; the few KEXP listeners wouldn't bother to wear a PPM? Why because they're too cool to wear one?

If what you say is actually true then I guess when it comes to tracking listenership as compared to other stations, KEXP will get left in the dust behind even the other non-comms in the area.

Or is your comment indeed merely sour grapes because KEXP in reality isn't that good nor popular of a station?
 
My comment has very little to do with liking or not liking the music on KEXP. My point is, to a certain segment of Seattle, the station is very appealing and can be monetized with certain types of underwriters. KEXP is an example, but it applies to other noncomms too. The idea being, public radio listeners in general may not carry the device but are very loyal to the concerts/venues/products that support their station, and often pledge money during fund drives. I think PPM may be a less than ideal measure for public broadcasters.
 
JimmyJames said:
My comment has very little to do with liking or not liking the music on KEXP. My point is, to a certain segment of Seattle, the station is very appealing and can be monetized with certain types of underwriters. KEXP is an example, but it applies to other noncomms too. The idea being, public radio listeners in general may not carry the device but are very loyal to the concerts/venues/products that support their station, and often pledge money during fund drives. I think PPM may be a less than ideal measure for public broadcasters.
Click to expand...

I suggest you take a look at San Francisco's KQED and their showing in the PPM based ratings. Public radio listeners are not showing a problem with wearing the meter. The idea that certain "types" won't participate is a placebo for the fact that KEXP has a small audience. A big reputation and impact within that community but when you take a look at the whole population of radio listeners, they are a minor radio station.
 
Of course there may be some mom and pop head shops, music stores and pet daycare which may want to reach the limited audience KEXP has in the Seattle area. I frankly doubt there is enough local stores willing to buy an underwriting sponsorship to support that operation in these economic times. Without being able to play in the PPM arena, KEXP should forget trying to compete with the commercial stations for ad sales and just focus on pure fundraising through their streaming internationally.

Advertisers that can make a dent are going to only part with their limited ad dollars if a station, commercial or non, can reveal their audience and demographic reach through ratings data. PPM is the only thing right now that can deliver those.

Regarding their programming; if KEXP wants to be in the game locally, really locally with a limited signal, then they're only choice is to "sell out" and either find a more mass appeal niche' like the Seattle Schools station and KUOW have, or look for more sugar daddies like Paul Allen. I'm not sure if Mr. Allen is still helping to fund KEXP to date, but I'd be willing to wager that he has a rather bad taste in his mouth for radio after losing thirty million dollars plus being a radio owner in Portland. Oh and don't forget Charter Cable.
 
KEXP has significant following on the internet ... so why not find advertisers who would fit that model? Obviously LOCAL not the focus in that case...and national buys don't make sense; but point is seems like it is REALLY time to stop thinking of just constantly doing business the same-old-way. All I have seen here so far are PPM objections based on old sales models.
 
Each market that converts to the PPM has this "transition" period as advertisers and radio gets used to the new system. My experience so far is that the end result has been good for radio. From a sales perspective radio reaches many more people than we ever thought. In Seattle we have stations like KRWM, KPLZ, KJR-FM and KJAQ reaching 750,000 or more people a week. That is double what anyone thought! That is good for radio.

What also appears to be true is that the stations that are "cool" to listen to or the "in" station really are not that strong. KEXP, KMTT, KUOW, KPLU and even KWJZ fit that model but in reality appeal to a much smaller loyal audience. It turns out the audience was loyal by voting for their station in a diary, but really didn't listen as much as they thought. Even worse, they actually find themselves tuning to those "uncool" mainstream stations more than they think. This seems to be holding up in most markets and it isn't just at work, but in their cars and at home.

This is particularly true of morning shows. Ryan Seacrest in LA, Matty in Boston, Kidd Kraddick in Dallas, Kent and Alan in Seattle were all thought "lame" or "washed up" In reality they have the biggest mornings cumes and AQH in the prime demos. American Idol may be lame, but lots of people watch it. Same applies to radio. Now that we know how big the audience for radio really is, radio can recapture some of its lost revenue that has gone to internet and newspaper models that turned out to have many fewer viewers/readers/listeners than first thought.

Just a perspective.
 
Live by the sword, die by the sword -

We've always had stations like KEXP - every good-sized market has at least one. Stations like that using Arbitron big-time to sell are playing witrh fire. Even in the Birkenstock capitol of America - Seattle - they're a fringe station. Better off to sell image, quality of listeners, unique experience - rather than raw numbers that the big bangers will use. Plenty of advertisers would rather have fewer KEXP listeners than a ton of Warm listeners because of the market niche KEXP fills. They will not share much cume with other stations.

I'm not as numbers expert. In fact, I've never much cared about #'s over my career. I've done well wherever I go - someplaces better, someplaces less - so I've never had to fret much.

As for KJR-FM's #'s - like I said, I'm not a ratings guru. But maybe KJR are calls so linked to the Jet City that they're taken for granted and now PPM shows their true strength. Kind of like ignoring Celine Dion until she sells 3 million of a new CD. Nobody likes her, everyone mocks her - yet she sells. Maybe KJR-FM is the same thing. Sorry - I'm unfamiliar with the other calls, the QJ station or whatever. I know it's shocking for a radio guy to say this but I'm not intimately acquainted with every signal in town.

BTW - I'm really liking KIRO-AM the more I listen and I'm NOT a sports nut. It's entertaining radio that moves quickly. Unlike the gaseous gabbing of what is now it's sinking FM. Imagine what Doris is thinking these days - going from crowingh about how she's #1, #1, #1 - and she's really about number 17. Humble pie? Meet Doris -
 
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