Arbitron Releases First Houston PPM – Hispanics & African-Americans have highest TSL.

Arbitron Inc. released the first “currency” radio ratings from the Houston Portable People Meter radio ratings service, bringing the second U.S. radio market into the era of electronic measurement.

The June Portable People Meter (PPM) survey ratings, covering May 31 through June 27, has been delivered to subscribing radio stations, agencies and advertisers to be used in the buy/sell process for radio commercial time and as the basis for making programming decisions.

Last April, Philadelphia became the first radio market in the United States to be measured by the Arbitron Portable People Meter system, an electronic audience measurement technology that has been in U.S. market trials since 2001. Over the next three years, the Portable People Meter is scheduled to be deployed in the top 50 markets in place of the paper and pencil diary method that the company has employed to collect radio audience estimates since 1965.

Hispanic and African-American Radio Listening Highest in Key Audience Metrics

PPM data in Houston continue to show that radio delivers consistently high levels of weekly and daily cume audiences. The PPM also indicates that Hispanics and African-Americans spend more time listening to radio than other consumer segments of the Houston radio metro.

PPM in Houston Confirms New Sales Paradigm for Radio: The Medium That Delivers Consumers Who Work Full Time

One compelling new finding indicated by the Portable People Meter ratings is that, for all measured ethnic groups, a larger percentage of the radio audience (Persons 18 plus) is employed Full Time as compared to the percentage of the market population that is employed Full Time.

As with the overall population, radio’s “working persons” advantage also applies for the Hispanic and African-American listener. These findings are in line with those of the Philadelphia PPM ratings for March 2007.

PPM AQH Composition Confirms Targetability of the Radio Formats

“Just as we have seen in the Philadelphia March 2007 ratings, the first ‘currency’ release of the Houston ratings in June shows significant growth in the total audience reach of individual radio stations. That means advertisers can now turn to radio for something that they prize: the ability to deliver reach against a specific target audience,” said Pierre Bouvard, president, Sales and Marketing, Arbitron Inc. “We also see in Houston that radio still maintains its targetability, even as individual station Cume audiences have increased.”

“The PPM ratings data clearly say that if you want an efficient ad schedule to reach your target audience, you need to consider stations and formats that deliver the highest percentage of AQH composition for your target audience. For example, you can’t effectively reach Hispanics without Spanish-language radio, just as you can’t reach African-Americans without Urban radio,” said Stacie DeArmas, director, Multicultural Media Services, Arbitron Inc.

When “School is Out,” Midday Kids Radio is Up

Unlike diary-based radio ratings, which measure persons age 12 and older, children as old as six are eligible to participate in PPM-based radio ratings. This makes children, age 6-11, the newest demographic for radio audiences.

During the first month of Summer vacation for students, children 6-11 tune in to radio later in the day than during the last two months of school. Midday Cume shows a sharp increase as children have time to listen when they would be in school Fall through Spring.

A three-month cumulative audience trend indicates that school attendance has a significant impact on how children listen to radio. During school months, a greater percentage of children age 6-11 are exposed to radio in morning drive. When school is out, children appear to “sleep in”, reducing their morning drive radio exposure. In June, the first month of summer vacation, midday exposure for the start of summer vacation is significantly higher. Weekday exposure to radio from 3 P.M. to 7 P.M. is relatively stable, whether during a school month or not.