Arbitron: Diarykeepers Have Changed How They Record Their Listening.

Arbitron Inc. has released an analysis of 2001-2002 data about how diarykeepers use station identifiers to record their listening. The analysis shows that a shift has occurred in the identifier diarykeepers record most often. In 1996, when Arbitron had last examined the use of station identifiers by studying a random sample of diary entries, call letters were the most commonly used station identifier recorded by diarykeepers. The new analysis of 2001-2002 data shows that diarykeepers are now principally recording stations’ frequencies instead.

Using new data retrieval tools, Arbitron has conducted a complete accounting of all 103,456,251 quarter-hours included in the Fall 2002, Spring 2002 and Fall 2001 surveys. As these one hundred million+ quarter-hours were counted, the station identifiers associated with each quarter-hour were tallied. The tally shows that 42.0 percent of quarter-hours in each of the three surveys were credited based on station frequencies alone, up from 27.9 percent of diary entries in 1996. For approximately 68 percent of quarter-hours in each of the three surveys, a station’s frequency was one of the station identifiers included when a diarykeeper recorded more than one identifier, up from 51.0 percent of diary entries in 1996.

In contrast, the use of call letters alone dropped significantly to approximately 18 percent of quarter-hours in the 2001-2002 surveys, versus 33.4 percent of diary entries in 1996. When multiple identifiers were recorded by diarykeepers, only about 35 percent of the quarter-hours in 2001-2002 surveys included call letters, versus 52.1 percent of the diary entries in the earlier study.

NOTE: During the 1996 Diary Content Analysis, the diary entry was the metric chosen to analyze diarykeeper use of station identifiers. As new data retrieval tools became available, the quarter-hour replaced the diary entry as the metric of choice. While diary entries and quarter-hours are different measures, the recent data make clear that there has been an observable shift toward the use of frequency as the dominant station identifier.

Frequencies Identified on County-by-County Basis to Ensure Correct Crediting
While call letters are the only unique identifier for a station, a station can also be easily identified by reference to its frequency. When frequencies are entered, such as “98.5” or “1500”, these entries are credited on a county-by-county basis using edit procedures that have been long tested and established by Arbitron.

Use of Station Name and Program/Personality Identifiers Has Been Stable
Diarykeepers’ use of Station Name and Program/Personality have generally remained stable since the 1996 analysis. Diarykeepers continue to use Station Names as one of the station identifiers they note approximately 19 percent of the time—evidence that efforts at station branding have been successful. Diarykeepers continue to include references to programs and personalities (nationally syndicated and local) among the multiple station identifiers they record about two percent of the time.

What Is Behind the Shift

“The rise in the proportion of listening reported by frequency may be attributed to a couple of factors, one being that stations—particularly those on the FM band—increasingly identify themselves over the air by exact frequency,” said John Budosh, senior policy analyst for Arbitron’s Diary Analysis and Communications group. “The increased penetration of digital-display radios at home, in the car and in the workplace has also influenced diarykeepers’ tendency to record station frequency more often than other station identifiers.”

“Knowing how diarykeepers are recording their listening is critical information for radio stations,” said Scott Musgrave, senior vice president and general manager of Arbitron Radio. “Given the shift from the predominance of call letters in 1996 to station frequency more recently, stations would be wise to examine the primary identifiers they are using on the air and make changes, if necessary, so they stay in step with recent trends. While call letters are a station’s most unique identifier, generally speaking, they are not diarykeepers’ identifier of choice today. Stations should also take note that diarykeepers’ use of program and personality names is marginal. When diarykeepers record only one station identifier, that single identifier is a program or personality name just 0.5 percent of the time.”

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