Since both Beasley and Radio One have stations in Philadelphia, and Radio One in Houston as well, management at both companies were quizzed about PPM's impact in their Wall Street conference calls. Both Beasley President Bruce Beasley and Radio One CEO Al Liggins indicated that they are adjusting to the new electronic ratings and both said that Arbitron still has work to do to get the product right.
Liggins said PPM is not having much of a sales impact in Houston, where he has little competition in the Urban formats. But that marketplace is more competitive in Philadelphia, where Radio One is up against Clear Channel, and meanwhile Liggins questions the real value of the ratings Jerry Lee's WBEB-FM, which he described as a "soft elevator music AC," is getting in young demos.
Their PPM may be picking up the station's encoded signal just because they are walking by a place where it is playing, but Liggins questions whether the ads make any connection with those young people.
