New metro definition rules announced by Arbitron

After consulting with its Radio Advisory Council and Agency Advisory Council, Arbitron has announced new criterion for redefining metro survey areas in its diary markets. The rating company said the changes in listening and commuting criterion are in response to changes in the radio business environment.

The new criterion for determining if a county qualifies to be in the Metro is based on a 70-point criterion, which replaces the 55% listening/15% commuting criteria that had been in place since 1998.

Under the new 70-point criterion, a county would qualify for inclusion in a Metro when the sum of the percentage of listening and the percentage of commuting is 70% or more, provided that a minimum of 55% of the listening quarter-hours in the county are credited to stations that are home to the existing metro. Counties with less than 55% listening to metro stations, regardless of commuting percentage, are not eligible for the metro.

Under the former criteria, at least 55% of the listening quarter-hours in the county had to be credited to stations that are home to the existing Metro and at least 15% of the commuting in the county must have been into the existing Metro.  The new rule has no minimum for commuting.

The new criterion is expected to take effect in time for redefinitions to be applicable for the Fall 2011 survey period, the company said.

What about Portable People Meter (PPM) markets? Arbitron said it is in the process of reviewing its Metro redefinition policy for markets using the PPM ratings service.

“The radio broadcasting landscape has changed significantly over the past thirteen years and we felt it was in the best interest of our clients to evaluate the existing metro redefinition policies. We greatly appreciate the time and careful consideration our advisory council members put into developing their recommendations for the updated metro redefinition policies,” said Sean Creamer, Arbitron Executive Vice President, US Media Services.

The new 70 point rule

RBR-TVBR observation: The 70 point rule applies to removing a county from a Metro as well as determining whether one should be added. It will be interesting to see how many Metros change shape under the new criteria.