Significant Differences Between Diary & PMM For Hispanic Radio.

Individual radio station ratings performances vary significantly between Arbitron’s “traditional” Diary measurement system and the new PPM measurement system being tested in Houston. This is the major finding of a new report released today by Coleman, a media research firm that provides its clients with deeper insights into music trends and branding opportunities.

The report, Early PPM Insights, features a comparison of ratings data from the Houston market, where Arbitron is testing the PPM audience measurement system that it hopes to introduce to the 50 largest U.S. radio markets by 2012. Coleman’s report also includes a comparison of the Houston findings with findings from an earlier test of the PPM system Arbitron conducted in the Philadelphia market.

“If PPM becomes a reality, it will have a significant impact on many of our clients,” commented Coleman president Jon Coleman. “We want to be sure that with this and future reports we release on this subject our clients fully understand PPM and have as much insight into it as possible.”

Coleman’s Early PPM Insights report includes the following conclusions:

• The 12 plus AQH share differences between Diary and PPM are more dramatic in Houston than they were in Philadelphia.

• Commercial English-language music stations in Houston benefit the most from PPM versus Diary measurement.

• Almost all stations in Houston have larger Cume audiences in PPM than in Diary, but commercial English-language stations experience larger than average Cume increases.

• All Houston stations have lower TSL in PPM than in Diary, but Spanish language stations generally experience larger declines in TSL than do English language stations.

“As Arbitron releases more data from the Houston trial, we will learn more about how PPM and Diary measurements differ,” said Coleman senior research analyst John Boyne, who authored the report. “It will be interesting to see if some of our findings hold up over time.” Coleman’s Early PPM Insights report is available for free at www.ColemanInsights.com.