More radio nonsense, and plans by radio ratings body RAJAR to introduce a technology based measurement system that doesn't involve people writing what radio programmes they listen to down in a little book may have suffered a setback after plans to introduce the same system in the US were delayed because of concerns by some in the sector.
As much previously reported, RAJAR have been looking into new ways to measure radio ratings for some time. The whole issue was much more high profile while Kelvin Mackenzie was running TalkSport, because he reckoned that the RAJAR system unfairly represented his station's ratings (because, he argued, RAJAR diary keepers who heard sport on the radio may assume they were listening to the BBC when actually they are listening to TalkSport). He ranted about the whole thing on a regular basis, taking RAJAR to court, and introducing his own radio ratings system that used watch-like devices that a sample group of listeners wore, and which tracked what radio stations they were exposed to.
RAJAR, however, expressed its own concerns regarding the technology Mackenzie's ratings system employed, and have argued any new measurement technology would need to be rigorously tested before being used instead of the diary system. For the last year or so they have been rigorously testing one such technology in London.
The same technology has also been tested by Arbiton, a US based radio ratings firm, but they have announced they are delaying the roll out of the so called 'pager-style people meter' because some of their clients - mainly radio stations aimed at younger or niche audiences - have expressed concerns the new system seems to give them much smaller audience figures. It's not clear if that is because of some kind of technical or statistical anomaly, or because less people are actually listening to these stations than previously thought, but either way Arbitron boss Steve Morris told reporters last week: "We remain confident in the audience estimates that the Portable People Meter service is producing. However, over the past three weeks, feedback from our customers, the media rating council and other constituencies has led us to conclude that the radio industry would be better served if we were to delay further commercialisation of the PPM in order to address their issues".
Of course RAJAR are doing their own tests - due to be completed in late 2008 - and they may persuade UK radio firms that the PPM system is delivering accurate fair ratings. Though if the new system has the same effect as in the US market, ie that youth and niche stations score much lower ratings, then the companies that own those stations over here may have the same reaction as their American counterparts, meaning the good old (or rubbish old, if you're of the same mind as Kelvin) diary system could be with us for some time to come.