[BC] Rising Ratings and Higher Costs for WJIB

[Mark Humphrey]

On 2/5/07, Dan Kelley <djkelley at frontier.net> wrote:
>
> Those who pay for the data see everything - "delisted" or otherwise;
> and with Maximizer software, the non-comms too!

That's what I suspected... but if Arbitron eliminates the traditional
diary methodology in favor of the Personal People Meter, what's to
stop a broadcaster who wishes to remain unrated from refusing to
encode?  Radio One was a holdout for several years, and I believe
Clear Channel still refuses to adopt the PPM system here in
Philadelphia.

To get around this issue, I've heard that Arbitron is now trying to
develop a PPM that uses digital pattern recognition, similar to the
BDS technology.  Combined with an accurate time reference, this might
have a chance of working, but I question its reliability (for example,
when two stations are simulcasting a newscast or another network
program, how could it distinguish between them?)

Mark