RDS and Arbitron

[redsea]

Hi everyone, I am very new to how radio works, and am a little confused on RDS. This may sound like a ridiculous question, but stations don't use this to monitor who is listening, right (they can only use Arbitron)? I was also curious as to how Arbitron is aware of stations when the signal isn't super strong/interfering with another signal. Does it choose which is stronger? I hope this is the correct section, thank you!

 

[davideduardo]

Hi everyone, I am very new to how radio works, and am a little confused on RDS. This may sound like a ridiculous question, but stations don't use this to monitor who is listening, right (they can only use Arbitron)? I was also curious as to how Arbitron is aware of stations when the signal isn't super strong/interfering with another signal. Does it choose which is stronger? I hope this is the correct section, thank you!

RDS is not used for audience measurement.

Nielsen, formerly Arbitron, requires stations in the 48 PPM rated markets to "encode" their signal with a data burst about 4 seconds long that is embedded in and masked by station audio. The data can be sent as many as 13 times a minute.

The burst includes the station (or stream of HD channel) identifier which is a Nielsen code, not the call letters and the time.

The PPM device, that we call a "meter" hears the embedded data burst only, and stores it to memory. When the meter is docked for charging, it sends each day's data to Nielsen.

If a signal is strong enough to be played at a volume level that the human ear can hear, then the PPM meter will detect it.

It's really unlikely that two PPM encoded signals would be heard on the same frequency in a metered market. Most markets don't have PPMs and use the traditional diary survey. In those markets, and unrated markets and rural areas, stations are not generally encoded.

 

[redsea]

RDS is not used for audience measurement.

Nielsen, formerly Arbitron, requires stations in the 48 PPM rated markets to "encode" their signal with a data burst about 4 seconds long that is embedded in and masked by station audio. The data can be sent as many as 13 times a minute.

The burst includes the station (or stream of HD channel) identifier which is a Nielsen code, not the call letters and the time.

The PPM device, that we call a "meter" hears the embedded data burst only, and stores it to memory. When the meter is docked for charging, it sends each day's data to Nielsen.

If a signal is strong enough to be played at a volume level that the human ear can hear, then the PPM meter will detect it.

It's really unlikely that two PPM encoded signals would be heard on the same frequency in a metered market. Most markets don't have PPMs and use the traditional diary survey. In those markets, and unrated markets and rural areas, stations are not generally encoded.

Thank you! I was curious because there is a station in my area that sometimes fades to another station/static, and was wondering that IF it was setup for the PPM, if it would be able to recognize the "main/stronger" station. (even though most markets aren't setup this way) If I understand correctly, you are saying that if we can distinctly make out what is being said/played on the station, so will the PPM.

Thanks again!