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First "currency" data from Philadelphia PPM

Arbitron released the first "currency" radio ratings from the Philadelphia PPM ratings, covering 3/8-4/4. One compelling new finding is the dramatic increase in the composition of the radio audience (persons 18+) who are employed Full Time compared to what was reported by the diary. As with the overall population, radio's "working persons" advantage also applies for the African-American listener, but to a larger degree in the PPM ratings data. The data also indicates that the composition of the AQH audience for black persons 18+ is significantly higher than diaries.

"This is an important day for the American radio industry. Radio advertisers have been united in their desire for radio to enhance its accountability by adopting electronic measurement of radio audiences," said Steve Morris, Arbitron CEO. "We believe advertisers will have increased confidence in the medium, thanks to the increased accountability that electronic measurement delivers. Stations will have new audience insights to make improvements to their programming and broadcasters will be better able to garner incremental revenue from new and existing advertisers. We've already seen in our previously published studies of Portable People Meter estimates that radio audiences during commercials are far higher than anyone suspected."

As well, the PPM AQH Composition confirms targetability of formats.

"Just as we have seen in our test markets, the Philadelphia March 2007 ratings show significant growth in the total audience reach of individual radio stations. That means advertisers can now turn to radio for something that they prize: the ability to deliver reach against a specific target audience," said Pierre Bouvard, president, Sales and Marketing, Arbitron.

The PPM data indicate that listeners to African-American stations have the highest loyalty to the radio stations they listen to. See the chart.

Additional analyses will be released over the coming weeks and months.

The Portable People Meter radio ratings in Philadelphia are not yet accredited by the Media Rating Council. Arbitron has submitted the Philadelphia PPM for accreditation. Audit reports have been presented to the PPM audit subcommittee of the MRC and the process continues.



Monday-Sunday, 6:00am-Midnight
Philadelphia Radio Metro March 2007

Persons 6+

Adults 25-54

Persons Using Radio(AQH rating)

Weekly Time Spent Listening
(hh:mm)

Weekly Cume

Rating

Daily Cume

Rating

Persons Using Radio (AQH rating)

All Persons

9.1

11:30

96.3

72.1

10.3

Black Persons

9.4

12:00

96.3

70.4

11.5

Other Persons

9.1

11:30

96.3

72.8

10.2

Hispanic Persons

8.6

11:00

95.9

69.2

7.6


How to read: the average audience for radio in any given quarter-hour during the Monday-Sunday 6:00am to Midnight daypart is 9.1 percent of all Persons, age 6 and older. Over the course of a week, 96.3 percent of all Persons, age 6 and older, listen to radio.

PPM Reveals New Sales Paradigm for Radio: The Medium That Delivers Consumers Who Work Full Time

One compelling new finding indicated by the Portable People Meter ratings (at least in Philadelphia) is the dramatic increase in the composition of the radio audience (persons 18+) who are employed Full Time compared to what was reported by the radio diary.


Average Quarter-Hour Audience Composition by Employment Status
Philadelphia Radio Metro Survey Area
Monday-Friday 6:00a.m. – 7:00p.m.

PPM AQH
(March 2007)

Diary AQH

(2006)

Population
Persons 18+

Persons 18+

Employed FT

64%

60%

52%

Not Employed

23%

25%

34%

Black Persons 18+

Employed FT

69%

56%

54%

Not Employed

19%

30%

34%

Other Persons 18+

Employed FT

64%

62%

53%

Not Employed

24%

23%

31%


FT=Full Time. For clarity, the table does not include Employed Part Time.

As with the overall population, radio’s “working persons” advantage also applies for the African-American listener, but to a larger degree in the PPM ratings data. The PPM data in Philadelphia indicate that the composition of the average quarter-hour radio audience for black persons 18+ is significantly higher than what diary-based radio ratings had previously indicated.

PPM AQH Composition Confirms Targetability of the Radio Formats

“Just as we have seen in our test markets, the Philadelphia March 2007 ratings show significant growth in the total audience reach of individual radio stations. That means advertisers can now turn to radio for something that they prize: the ability to deliver reach against a specific target audience,” said Pierre Bouvard, president, Sales and Marketing, Arbitron Inc. “We also see that, even as individual station Cume audiences have increased, radio still maintains its targetability.”


Average Quarter-Hour Audience Composition
Philadelphia Radio Metro, March 2007
Monday-Sunday 6AM - Midnight
Persons 6+

Example station by format

Composition

Black

Hispanic

Other

Urban Contemporary

AQH %

86.1

4.6

9.3

Spanish Tropical

AQH %

5.6

86.7

7.8

Pop Contemporary Hits

AQH %

12.3

6.8

80.8


Example station by format

Composition

Men

Women

Classic Rock

AQH %

68.5

32.1

All Sports

AQH %

81.5

18.5

Hot Adult Contemporary

AQH %

33.3

66.7


"The PPM ratings data clearly say that if you want an efficient ad schedule to reach your target audience, you need to consider stations and formats that deliver the highest percentage of AQH composition for your target audience. For example, you can’t effectively reach African-Americans without urban radio,” said Julian Davis, director, Urban Media Services, Arbitron Inc.


PPM Turnover Measure Highlights Listener Loyalty by Market Segment

A radio industry metric called “turnover” is another means of highlighting radio station listener loyalty. The PPM data indicate that listeners to African-American stations have the highest loyalty to the radio stations they listen to.

Average Weekly and Daily Turnover
Philadelphia Radio Metro Survey Area
March 2007

Monday-Sunday 6A-Mid

Monday-Friday 6A-10A

Avg. Weekly Turnover

Avg. Daily Turnover

Avg. Weekly Turnover

Avg. Daily Turnover

Person 6+

10.5

7.9

6.1

3.9

Hispanic 6+

11.1

8.0

7.7

4.3

Black 6+

10.3

7.5

5.9

3.7

Other 6+

10.6

8.0

6.0

4.0


How to read: turnover is the ratio of the total number listeners in a daypart to the average number of listeners in any given quarter-hour of that daypart. The lower the number, the more “loyal” the listener.

“As with all media research, some estimates of radio audience behavior will vary from one market to the other,” noted Mr. Davis. “That said, we believe the industry should be encouraged by the positive findings for the medium that the Portable People Meter is indicating.

Source: Arbitron Inc.



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