Will Clear Channel abandon Arbitron?

[Radio_Realist]

Saw this on a PBRTV link to a Post-Gazette article.

An excerpt:

"Although Arbitron has spent years perfecting the People Meter, Clear Channel is still threatening to have their listenership measured by another company. That would cause Arbitron to lose their largest client and 19 percent of their revenue. Companies like Clear Channel want more cutting edge technology like the People Meter to measure their listenership because of slowing growth in radio ad revenue."

The Post-Gazette article link:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06170/699481-80.stm

Basically, it appears that Clear Channel isn't pleased that Arbitron is still using paper diaries, and doesn't regard the forthcoming "People Meter" as adequate. Then again, based on what the PG article says about the technology, it might prove even worse for radio, as some versions include the use of GPS technology to see how many people actually travel to a sponsor's place of business after hearing a commercial.

As a marketer, such information would be really valuable in deciding which stations to buy airtime on, or whether to buy radio time or to use some other medium. But if I worked in radio, I think I'd be very afraid that the detailed information that the People Meter system would provide might cost me even more advertisers who'd select alternate media over broadcast radio.

 

[Johnny Morgan]

The question isn't which system is best for radio company--it's which system is best for advertisers. Clear Channel has it backwards.

Arbitron has succeeded in the face of other ratings companies over time (Hooper, Pulse, etc.) because advertisers put faith in their statistical model and results. The fact that CC doesn't believe that only 4.5% of the Pittsburgh listening audience 12+ (or whatever it is 25-54 all, or other demos) listens to, say, 3WS, is not reason enough for advertisers to finally decide: "you know what? Clear Channel is right--there must be more people listening to Clear Channel stations that Arbitron tells us. Clear Channel stations have more listeners because Clear Channel says they do."

Of course not.

Every other big radio company has signed up again with Arbitron. Will Clear Channel be the only ones not to? If so, won't it be fun seeing their struggling sales crew knocking on the door of Grandma Stash's Hluski Shoppe begging her to buy a :60 because they can't get any agency buys--all because Clear Channel thought they were better than the ratings service.

No, the ratings are for the advertisers, not the radio station. When CC understands that, maybe we'll get some good programming ideas, and less of this business model-sales crap they've pushed for the last 8 years.

 

[radiomayor2]

CC will not abandon arbiton.....

in the end they will stay because the agencies will support arbitron's new ppm technology.......

down the line there COULD be a PPM competitor but as of now....nobdy else is ready........and the shops are yelling for radio to quit thowing around all the testosterone and get organzed like neilsen and the TV industry appears to be.........

 

[corporateradiosucks]

OK, I swear I'm not trying to be thick. Does this people meter pick up the radio station while you're listening to it like a mini tape recorder? It just sounds a little too Big Brother...at least w/ Arbitron if you were really embarrassed that you tuned into the Bay City Rollers retrospective, you could lie about it. LOL.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"Does this people meter pick up the radio station while you're listening to it like a mini tape recorder?"

I don't know exactly how it works, but this is what the P-G article said about it:

"Arbitron's solution is the People Meter, a small device that clips onto a belt loop or slides into a purse. It automatically detects what stations its wearers are tuned in to and beams back that information to the number crunchers."

I'm not so worried about being caught listening to the Bay City Rollers. I'm wondering how they'll crunch the numbers for people who hit the station button every time a commercial break comes on. What'll happen when radio stations discover that they get tuned out whenever anyone hears Ray Vinson's voice? What'll happen when stations discover that high rotation songs that tested well in auditoriums have burned out and cause instant station changes? Or when stations like Bob discover that people mark "Bob" in their diaries, but who actually change the station every time they hear a train-wreck segue?

This could be as big as when record sales charts switched from tracking sales from wholesalers to stores to tracking retail sales at the electronic cash register.