Nielsen desiste de levar o PPM para a televisão (EUA)

«Arbitron’s Portable People Meter (PPM) is going to be a radio only ratings system. Nielsen Media Research has decided not to exercise its option for a joint venture with Arbitron to deploy PPM commercially across the US. Nielsen says it may license PPM for use in measuring out-of-home viewing, but is evaluating other options for measuring in-home viewing. (...) "We recognize the appeal of a portable, single source measurement tool. While it may offer considerable benefits for radio research, we believe that a one-size-fits-all measurement system is not the approach for a currency in today’s complex television markets," said Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting. Nielsen said yesterday it had concerns about sample quality, including fault rates, said PPM’s definition of "audience" resulted in "large and still unexplained increases in television viewership," which it attributed to PPM being designed to measure radio rather than TV, said that costs would be high and it appeared that TV would be subsidizing radio measurement, and questioned how many TV companies really support moving to PPM measurement. At Arbitron, CEO Steve Morris said his company will focus on its "radio only" option for rolling out PPM. Without having Nielsen as a partner, he noted that Arbitron will have "complete flexibility" for where and how to roll out PPM - - not mentioning that it will mean that the cost will be higher for radio broadcasters. Morris will hold a conference call with Wall Street analysts this morning to discuss the financial ramifications of the Nielsen decision to walk away. Just two days from now (3/3), Clear Channel is due to announce whether it and the radio groups which have joined in evaluating proposals submitted under its RFP on passive electronic radio audience measurement have selected PPM or one of its competitors as the best system to serve the US radio industry.»
(fonte: «Nielsen walks; PPM to be radio only»)

O presidente da Arbitron: «“I’m obviously disappointed since we and they [Nielsen] have invested a lot of time and effort in looking for a way to make this work,”(...) “Looking forward,” Morris added, “we now feel we’re free to focus on radio’s needs without having to negotiate trade-offs to accommodate television requirements.”» (fonte Billboard Radio Monitor, Arbitron's Morris: 'We're Disappointed', March 02, 2006, By Mike Boyle)