«(...) For years, Arbitron Inc. has measured radio ratings based on paper diaries filled out by listeners. But it's now in the early stages of moving to a new electronic system, called the Portable People Meter. Already in use in Philadelphia and Houston, the system will be rolled out more widely soon.

The People Meter, a pager-sized device that automatically registers what radio station survey participants are listening to, is already yielding more specific -- and, in some cases, surprising -- data. The results from the first two markets indicate that people flip among stations more frequently than they say, that men listen to significantly more radio than women and that employed people listen a lot more than people who don't work. While the diary system pointed to some of these findings, it typically missed how broad they are. In the markets that have switched to the electronic ratings, rock and classic rock rank higher than before, while hip-hop and other urban music generally don't stack up as well. Perhaps most important, radio stations typically pull in a bigger audience than they thought, but that audience spends less time listening to them.»

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

fonte: «New Way to Count Listeners Shakes Up Radio», Wall Street Journal, By SARAH MCBRIDE, September 6, 2007;