The Arbitron Diary as we know has been replaced with the Nielsen PPM meters.
Arbitron has been around for what seems like forever. I've always wondered how "easy" those little books could be manipulated. There are millions of dollars on the line as advertising agencies examine ratings, demos, etc.
What lead to Nielsen PPM as being the successor to Arbitron? Have there been cases of manipulation where a station gets more listening credit than it should?
Someone might simply write in a given station and nothing else. Also, how precise were those diaries?
As an example, two radio stations who share the same call letters such as WLS-AM and WLS-FM. What if anything happens if a listener simply writes "WLS" in the diary? Which station gets the listening credit?
If someone "forgets" or simply doesn't like the station which is playing, could they not write in another station?
I'm hoping Jeremy Andrews, WYTZZ95FM and John from Wisconsin pass along their thoughts/experiences. These three individuals have shown expertise in the past and I have learned much from them.
Thank you.
Re: The Arbitron Diary
Posted by WYTZZ95FM on October 10, 2024, 10:31 am, in reply to "The Arbitron Diary"
The Arby books were fudged often. Very hard to make sure the person was not entering their favorite station all day long, even when not listening. In the case of 2 stations sharing the same calls on AM & FM, Arbitron would call to ask and clarify, or use other mechanisms to determine it. Back in the day WLS-FM was promoted as 94.7 and the Top Hour "Z95 WYTZ Chicago @ 94.7" for the sheer fact to separate it from the AM and due to 95.1 in Kenosha being CHR too. B96 was B96.3 and US99.5 was a thing. They needed those Arbitron enters to be exact and correct. That is why with PPM call signs and frequency no longer matter.
Nielsen bought out Arbitron. Companies raise money and stay relevant staying current with technology. PPM is not perfect, it is actually very flawed and like Terrestrial companies did not stay ahead of the game taking IP delivered content seriously.
on October 7, 2024, 7:54 pm