Project LeapFrog moving ahead at Arbitron

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Members of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council (RAC) got an update on the latest Project LeapFrog pilot project. And while many would like to see it leaping further and faster, the potential replacement for the current ratings diary system remains on track.


Outgoing RAC Chairman Tom Skinner of KZST-FM Santa Rosa, CA had hoped to get a full report on the most recent pilot that ran from May through early July, but he’ll have to wait for part of it. He told reporters that Arbitron did report improved registration with the latest test, compared to last year. But the ratings company is still working on audience analysis. Arbitron is hoping to be able to share that analysis with RAC members in mid-November.

“Broadcasters always think Arbitron moves too slow – and that’s just in our nature. But we continue to press them on a sense of urgency for this. There’s a lot of diary markets out there that are really frustrated with the current product and they’re very much looking forward to what this new technology may bring,” Skinner said.

The California broadcaster is wrapping up his second (non-consecutive) term as Chair of the RAC. Don Benson of Lincoln Financial Media, who is currently Vice Chair, was elected to take over as Chairman in 2012. Craig Jacobus of South Central Media was elected Vice Chair.

Benson, who participated in the PPM session while Skinner was with the diary group, noted that Arbitron is moving ahead with PPM 360, which will be the successor to the current device. He was pleased that Arbitron is moving to soon provide weekly responde4nt-level data in its PPM analysis tool.