Ratings misfire?

[4CX1000A]

I just looked at the March Providence Arbitrons, and they have several stations disappearing into black holes, among them WBRU, not showing at all in March after having scored decently in February. This must be a mistake; I wonder if it'll get corrected in the next 24 hours.

 

[Runrigger]

Arbitron no longer releases numbers for non subscribing stations so they won't be listed.
Also looks like Cat Country is even more of a force to contend with at #1 6+
Decent jump for WHJJ, up to a 2.2

 

[Jacko]

It appears that all the Boston stations aren't accounted for as well. Hmmm...

Jacko

 

[reelyreal]

Runrigger is correct. If a station does not subscribe to the book in that city, the top line 6+ rankers will no longer be publicly released. Boston stations have no need for the Providence book, so they don't buy it. Therefore, the Boston stations won't show up in the Providence publicly released numbers.

It looks like the only player in the market that doesn't buy the book is WBRU, and they really don't need to.

 

[N.E. Streetz]

So if I get this PPM crap and listen to BRU or a Boston station I don't count as a listener. How stupid is that !! That's like going to vote and your vote don't count.PPM System sucks !!

 

[iyiyi]

One good thing about PPM was that it illustrated the relationship of virtually all stations heard in the market. They demonstrated out of market stations' effect on the local market and vice versa. Arbitron may want to rethink this current move.

 

[reelyreal]

So if I get this PPM crap and listen to BRU or a Boston station I don't count as a listener. How stupid is that !! That's like going to vote and your vote don't count.PPM System sucks !!

I responded to you on the Boston board, but I'll do it here again, once more with feeling. What you describe is not what's happening. Nothing is changing with the ratings system, how listenership is calculated, or anything like that. The only thing that's happened is that the public is no longer seeing those top line numbers. They still exist, you just have to buy the book to see them for those stations. Arbitron is doing this to prevent cases of stations that don't subscribe using the top line numbers to sell ads. That's a no-no.

One good thing about PPM was that it illustrated the relationship of virtually all stations heard in the market. They demonstrated out of market stations' effect on the local market and vice versa. Arbitron may want to rethink this current move.

It'll still illustrate that, just not to you and me in the public. You'll have to get your hands on a Providence book to see that relationship. This is all about protecting their proprietary product. They're a for-profit business, and they stand no benefit from releasing ANY number publicly. It's a bummer for industry observers, but what can you do?

 

[4CX1000A]

So if I get this PPM crap and listen to BRU or a Boston station I don't count as a listener. How stupid is that !! That's like going to vote and your vote don't count.PPM System sucks !!

I am going to advise my non-subscribing clients to turn off their PPM encoders, since they no longer get any benefit from running them.

 

[tony r]

Arbitron should spend more time correcting their station info. WPRO FM and WEAN FM? are not simulcast. WPRO AM and WEEN AM? are not simulcast. WPRV AM has not played classic hits for several years. Is WELH FM RI Public radio? If they are so careless with this information, are they just as sloppy in compiling the ratings darta?

 

[4CX1000A]

I am going to advise my non-subscribing clients to turn off their PPM encoders, since they no longer get any benefit from running them.

In fact, it occurs to me that if I ran WBRU, I'd pull the plug on my encoder this instant, thereby artificially inflating the shares of all the subscribing stations and reducing the accuracy and value of Arbitron's numbers. In other words, f**k 'em.

 

[reelyreal]

So if I get this PPM crap and listen to BRU or a Boston station I don't count as a listener. How stupid is that !! That's like going to vote and your vote don't count.PPM System sucks !!

I am going to advise my non-subscribing clients to turn off their PPM encoders, since they no longer get any benefit from running them.

Without buying the book, they shouldn't have been using the numbers in any way at all anyways. Are you saying you previously advised your clients to illegally use the proprietary information of Arbitron?

If you actually do have a client who encodes, you don't have to buy the book to get a benefit. If the station actually pulls ratings, the media buyers who buy the book still see it, and the station still gets the buy.

 

[iyiyi]

The #s now being provided to the general public is basically akin to a deck of 31 cards. They should not post any #s at all rather than present a deceptively incomplete list for the public. 4CX1000A is the man with a Plan!