ARBITRON TESTS PPM THAT CAN TRACK UNENCODED STATIONS FMQB
Arbitron is field testing a Portable People Meter (PPM) that is equipped with an audio matching capability that would allow the device to track listening to radio stations even if their signals are not encoded. The dual-function meter is capable of identifying a radio station using two methods of detection. First, a dual-function PPM can detect inaudible codes in the audio of stations that are equipped with the Arbitron PPM encoder, and it also can collect audio signatures for other radio stations, which are later matched to signatures collected by an in-market monitoring system. Furthermore, Arbitron downloaded updated versions of audio-matching software into the current generation PPMs that are already in the hands of the 50 former PPM panelists who are participating in the dual-function field test.
Arbitron President of Sales & Marketing Pierre Bouvard says that, "Once the new technology is fully developed, advertisers and broadcasters can rest assured that they will get a comprehensive picture of listening in the local market." Research Officer Bob Patchen added, "Our goal is to ensure that our audio matching results are consistent with those we have achieved and validated using the encoding/decoding technology. By using PPM codes as the benchmark, we can now evaluate and refine procedures that will produce a reliable audio matching capability for the PPM system. This will provide additional means to assure measurement of listening to all major radio stations in a local market.”
"We hope this new capability will help the industry better appreciate how flexible and adaptable the PPM system is,” said Owen Charlebois, President of Operations & Research at Arbitron. “Over the past 10 years, we’ve kept the PPM system ahead of the curve in terms of how it can handle any number of compression schemes, distribution platforms and location tracking technologies. At the same time we have been expanding the technical capabilities of the PPM system, we’ve also been improving the methodological foundation that is essential to the reliability of an electronic audience measurement service. This can only be accomplished through years of experience in the field working with a large number of real respondents.” |