Arbitron Delays Including Non-Commercial Stations In The Book

Arbitron

ARBITRON announced that it will delay the reporting of public and non-commercial radio stations in its local market ratings reports based on input from the ARBITRON RADIO ADVISORY COUNCIL during the three-day meeting in HOUSTON last week.

ARBITRON had inititally planned to have public and non-commercial stations included in the FALL '06 survey. The COUNCIL requested that ARBITRON wait to report public and non-commercial stations until the company was ready to report to report individual satellite radio channels and Internet radio channels. ARBITRON is currently collecting and analyzing additional data in order to further refine rules for crediting satellite radio entries, including the rules for handling diary entries that could be assigned to either satellite or over-the-air stations.

The public and non-commercial stations are currently reported in ARBITRON’s MAXIMI$ER AND MEDIA PROFESSIONALISM respondent level data services and in the special public radio service marketed by the RADIO RESEARCH CONSORTIUM (RRC).

Improved Diary Instructions To Facilitate Further Study

ARBITRON has included diary instructions in the FALL '06 survey to facilitate further study of Internet/Satellite listening, which includes: AM, FM, Internet or Satellite.

"If you listen over the Internet or to a satellite radio service, please include the station name or channel number" is added following the instruction "Write the call letters, dial setting or station name. If you don’t know, write down the program name"; references to "Internet" and "Satellite" are added to the checklist and sample appearing on the inside cover of the diary.

According to ARBITRON testing of Internet and Satellite instructions during WINTER '06 Phase II, the revised instructions helped improve the quality of entries and remind diary keepers to record their listening to Internet and Satellite radio.

Meanwhile, in WINTER '07, ARBITRON will conduct a test of new diary designs that will allow listeners to more easily report Satellite and Internet listening and HD Radio along with AM/FM entries. ARBITRON is also making systems changes that will allow the reporting of satellite, HD2 channels and Internet-streamed terrestrial radio as separate stations with their full station name in ARBITRON’s desktop software programs.

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